Spontaneous visual recovery following a central retinal artery occlusion in a patient with a cilioretinal artery

Retinal arterial occlusion causes acute, painless vision loss, and it requires immediate emergency care. There are two separate arterial systems (retinal and ciliary) in the retina, and in most cases only the central retinal artery and its branches supply blood to the inner retinal layers. Cilioretinal artery is an anatomical variant, which can also supply blood to the macula from the ciliary arterial system, and in the case of a retinal arterial occlusion, the cilioretinal artery could save central vision. We report a case of a 67-year-old woman who suffered a central retinal arterial occlusion while having a patent cilioretinal artery and she had a complete recovery of her central visual acuity. A series of fundus photography and optical coherence tomography images are presented that were taken during follow-up. The patient's complaints started one week before she presented in our department therefore acute therapy was not given. However, during the course of the follow-up her status gradually improved, and she finally regained 1,0 (20/20) visual acuity. In the presence of a cilioretinal artery following a central retinal arterial occlusion, there is a chance of visual acuity preservation.