Sudden loss of vision in a monocular patient, caused by visual cortex infarction.

Infarction of the occipital cortex usually causes loss of the contralateral half of the visual field in both eyes. Although cases with complete transient loss of vision have been described, this is due to involvement of the second half of the cortex in the pathologic process. We report a case of a one-eyed patient with almost complete loss of vision in her only eye because of an infarction of the ipsilateral occipital cortex. During the patient's hospitalization, the temporal half of the visual field recovered. The case is of interest because of the difficulties in diagnosing cortical blindness in a one-eyed patient.