Restoration of vision by combined experimental antithymocyte therapy, and orbital radiation with high-dose steroids for severe, acute, steroid-refractory, congestive thyroid orbitopathy.

PURPOSE: We report diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas in the difficult case of compressive optic neuropathy with severe visual acuity and visual field loss with subsequent visual recovery in both eyes, in a patient with Graves' orbitopathy (GO) by a combination of experimental antithymocyte therapy, orbital radiotherapy with high-dose steroids.

METHODS: A 72-year-old man presented with severe vision loss in both eyes. The visual symptoms had appeared over a year before the GO diagnosis. He was initially misdiagnosed with neuroborreliosis and optic neuritis based on brain and orbital magnetic resonance imaging. There was no exophthalmos. The ophthalmological examination included visual acuity, visual field, tonometry in primary and upgaze eye position, optical coherence tomography (OCT), pattern electroretinogram (PERG), pattern, and flash visual evoked potentials (PVEP and FVEP). The patient received experimental therapy with ATG, followed by high-dose of intravenous steroids and orbital radiotherapy.

RESULTS: Delayed VEP peaks became shorter after treatment. After systemic and local therapy lowering of intraocular pressure was achieved. Abnormal PERG has been found three months before ganglion cells atrophy was detected in OCT. Visual acuity and visual field improvement occurred in both eyes after therapy, despite partial left optic nerve atrophy. The patient regained full decimal visual acuity (1.0 right from as poor as 0.3  to 1.0 in the right eye and from hand movements to 0.9 in the left. Severe visual field loss with advanced absolute scotomata has improved to slight relative scotomata. The duration of follow-up time after the treatment was 4 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Intensive treatment of steroid-resistant Graves' orbitopathy (GO) may prevent total optic nerve atrophy. Despite severely advanced optic neuropathy, this report emphasizes the necessity of therapy even with nearly complete visual function loss hence there is always a possibility to regain full visual acuity and visual field. Patients with tense orbital septum may not present with significant exophthalmos, thus delaying the correct diagnosis of orbitopathy. A supporting sign of GO was the difference in intraocular pressure in the primary and upgaze eye positions. Electrophysiological examinations are helpful in the diagnosis and monitoring of GO therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this kind presenting visual function restoration and structural recovery in a patient with advanced optic neuropathy in GO.