Optic nerve sheath fenestration for treating papilloedema in the era of cerebral venous sinus stenting

Background

Pseudotumour cerebri (PTC) is the syndrome of intracranial hypertension without intracranial mass or hydrocephalus and is the commonest cause of papilloedema seen in many eye clinics. In the last 10 years, we have increasingly used TSS in patients whose papilloedema was not well controlled with medical treatment and have done fewer ONSFs. Here, we review our experience at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney with ONSF in 35 patients over the period 2002–2021.

Methods

Retrospective case series of 35 patients, 30 of whom had primary PTC [i.e., idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH)] and 5 with secondary PTC.

Results

Eighteen patients had bilateral ONSF and 17 patients unilateral ONSF, in each case of the worse eye. Thirteen patients then underwent transverse sinus stenting (TSS), in each case following ONSF. The primary outcome measures were visual acuity (VA) and mean deviation (MD) on visual field (VF) testing. MD improved by 5 dB or more in 34 of 70 total eyes (48.6%); VA improved by 0.2 logMAR (two lines on Snellen chart) or more in 21 eyes (30%), and by both in 15 eyes (21.4%). Final MD was −10 dB or better in 38 eyes (54.3%); final VA was 0.3 (6/12) or better in 54 eyes (77.1%), and both in 39 eyes (55.7%).

Conclusions

The results confirm that ONSF can relieve papilloedoema in both eyes and improve both VF and VA, even in cases of fulminant PTC with severe acute visual impairment.