Vitreous detachment + Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

[Chalkman]

I am a 42 year old male with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I was told recently by an eye specialist that I am at risk of a vitreous detachment in my 40s and that it could cause retinal damage, even a detachment.

I suffered, at age 17, a retinal haemorrhage in the right eye which has destroyed the macula, so I am pretty paranoid about any further damage.

He also said that there was a risk of a similar incident in the left eye.

Can anyone possibly quantify these risks for me? 20%, 50%, or what?

And what are the chances of no further serious damage (ie any vitreous detachment is relatively harmless (ie no retina damage caused) and no more retinal haemorrhages?

TIA

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

I cannot quantitate the risk. Be totally sure that your "eye doctor" is a MD eye physcian ophthalmologist. Ask him/her.  In no case should you be under the care of a non-MD non-physician optometrist.

JCH MD

[Chalkman]

HE is an MD opthalmologist.

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

Then ask your personal MD to try and quantitate your risks.
JCH MD

[Chalkman]

I wil not see him for a year, that's why I was looking for answers here.

[Rebekah72]

Seriously, if you're concerned about your eyes you need to get him on the phone and talk to him.  That's what you pay him for, to discuss your eye issues.  Normally you would go to the eye doc once per year (with US insurance anyway) but you can ALWAYS call a doctor and speak to them ESPECIALLY when you're having an issue with your vision.  Never feel like you can't contact your physician and if they make you feel like you can't, find a new one!

[Chalkman]

I should say I'm in the UK and therefore it's on the NHS and free. The downside is that you have to wait ages for appointments unless it's an emergency,

At my recent appointment he kind of scared me. I just didn't want to wait a whole year for answers.  

[bat_y]

Hey! Don't worry, the way you describe it (and perhaps the way the doctor described it) are a little doom and gloom. I have EDS and had a PVD at age 25 in my left eye, then right eye at 27. Only about 15% or less of PVD cases progress to retinal tear or detachment. My doctor wasn't super worried about the PVD but did say I'd follow up to make sure nothing happened to the retina after, which it didn't. He seems extremely NOT worried about it and has repeatedly told me that PVD isn't really a big deal, and it happens to everyone eventually--he says it's a bit odd to happen in your 20s but that EDS could perhaps be to blame, we don't have data to say. But he thinks it's a possible "lead" for why it happened to me so young and I agree. My vision has not been threatened at all and retinas are okay. He said that if I get a "curtain over my vision" that'd be concerning, or if I have a huge amount of sudden floaters and flashes of light again (what I experienced with PVD, looked like a ton of floaters and camera flashes) to come back in so that if my retina were to ever be affected we could catch it early. Because of your history I'd definitely ask your doctor if any additional testing might be helpful to monitor your eyes, but it's safe to say a PVD is not sight threatening--only when it's complicated with retina issues does it become risky, but treatable. Hope this helps.

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

PVD's are a part of aging and can occur in young people especially myopes. HOWEVER: an acute PVD with sudden onset of many small foaters,  flashes of light or loss field of vision have a far higher risk of retinal tear or retinal detachment. (recent study about 5-6%)  all ACUTE PVDS NEED TO SEE AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST and be followed for up to a couple of months for problems.