  We study the effect of lifting the degeneracy of vortex modes with a PT
symmetric defect, using discrete vortices in a circular array of nonlinear
waveguides as an example. When the defect is introduced, the degenerate linear
vortex modes spontaneously break PT symmetry and acquire complex eigenvalues,
but nonlinear propagating modes with real propagation constants can still
exist. The stability of nonlinear modes depends on both the magnitude and the
sign of the vortex charge, thus PT symmetric systems offer new mechanisms to
control discrete vortices.
