PURPOSE: To investigate, using optical coherence tomography (OCT), whether 
retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) is affected in amblyopic eyes.
METHODS: Using OCT (Stratus OCT™ [Carl Zeiss, Dublin, CA]), the RNFLT was 
measured in 26 patients with persistent unilateral amblyopia and in 25 patients 
with recovered unilateral amblyopia. The RNFLT was compared between the affected 
and fellow eyes in patients with persistent amblyopia and in those with 
recovered amblyopia, and between the amblyopic eyes of patients with persistent 
amblyopia and the previously amblyopic eyes of patients with recovered 
amblyopia.
RESULTS: In patients with persistent amblyopia and in those with recovered 
amblyopia, the affected eyes were significantly more hyperopic than the fellow 
eyes. The average (±standard deviation) RNFLT measured 105.5 ± 14.0 μm for the 
persistently amblyopic eyes; this value did not significantly differ from that 
of the fellow eyes (105.2 ± 13.0 μm) or the previously amblyopic eyes of 
recovered amblyopia (107.1 ± 11.7 μm). Also, logistic regression analysis 
adjusting for refraction showed no significant difference in the RNFLT between 
the persistently amblyopic eyes and the previously amblyopic eyes.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that there is no significant change in the 
RNFLT in amblyopic eyes.