Myopic Fundi

[saraamir]

Dear Doctor,

My daughter Sara is 5-year old.  A couple of years back, we noticed that occassionally, she was having difficulties in focusing. We consulted an experienced opthalmologist who diagnosed Myopic Fudi & gave her a prescription as under:

Right Eye: -12.00  
Left Eye: -14.00

Naturally, itbecame a very sensitive matter for us.  Of course, she has started wearing the glasses.  She is in grade One & doing fine in her studies.

My question; What's likely to happen to her vision as she grows.
Secondly, Can it be treated through laser surgery.  Her doctor said Yes; when she turns 18.  We took opinion from another doctor who said No; the surgery won't be helpful.  Please could you give any advice.  Thanks.

Amir

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[tman363]

I have a high mytopia, -10 both eyes.  
Though not a professional, I have researched this subject as I have to take extra care of my eyes.

Eye surgery must always be a last resort with severe short sightedness.  With laser surgery, they are taking out some of the eye, which can lead to infections,  The greater the mytopia the more of the eye they are taking out, the more prone to problems after.

With a high mytopia the eye is slightly egg shaped which means the retina is stretched and therefore more likely to tear and detach.  Eye surgery could increase the chances of this.  
I did full contact martial arts as a youngster, completely unaware of the fact that I was susceptible to retinal detachment.  
I still do martial arts, but I have to take care and go for regular check ups of my retinas.(Once per year)

Also, her prescription might not become stable until she is in her 20's and then it still might change as she grows older, though as an adult the change will probably be in minor increments.

The jelly of the eye will get older faster with people who have a high mytopia.  So things that people usually experience in old age, such as eye floaters, might occur at a younger age.  I developed chronic floaters at the age of 36.  They are harmless but if any bright flashes or floaters are experienced, they must be checked as worst case scenario it could be a detached retina.  

I wouldn't give her contact lenses until she is at least 16 or so, as I have read that contact lenses can be damaging to children, probably because they don't wash them properly.

Contact lenses and glasses aren't that bad, and you can get really thin lenses for glasses nowadays.  She'll have to take extra care with her eyes, but there's no reason that she can't have a healthy, normal life.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

LASIK surgery would not correct that much myopia now. Maybe by the time she's 18 it will or there will be better treatment. Have a yearly exam by an eye MD. At some point have a retina Eye MD check her retina.

JCH MD