KS is a 37 year old female who was a new patient to our practice. She is visually impaired for the past 10 years due to retinal degeneration. Unfortunately there is a possibility that it may have been preventable if she was able to slow down the excessive progression of her myopia (nearsightedness).
Below is an image of the back of KS eyes. The area responsible for central vision, the macula, has suffered extensive damage due to broken blood vessels and inflammation. This is thought to be the most severe form of complication from myopia and is referred to as Myopic Maculopathy.
KS has a prescription above -15.00. KS has an axial length measures above 32mm which is much higher than expected (24mm). Why do we think this was potentially avoidable? Because KS was not born with this prescription. Her first pair of glasses was prescribed when she was 6 years old and she reports that her first prescription was around a -1.00. Her myopia progressed rapidly and unfortunately has caused this damage which is irreversible. If we were able to see her when she was younger we would have recommended intervention to slow the progression of her myopia. Our practice has recently started the Progressive Myopia Center at Park Ridge Vision for patients like KS. If you have or know a child with myopia, please share this with them. https://www.prvisioncare.com/progressivemyopiacenter/
