How can pathological myopia affect my eyes?
If you've been diagnosed with pathological or degenerative myopia, you have very high myopia (short sightedness) and your eye also shows degenerative changes affecting the back of the eye (the retina). These changes can include:
- Retinal atrophy - these are areas where your retina has become very thin and is no longer working
- Lattice degeneration - a type of retinal thinning at the far edges of your retina
- Lacquer cracks - breaks that occur in the membrane (Bruch's membrane) between the retina and its underlying blood supply (the choroid layer)
- New blood vessels (myopic choroidal neovascularisation) - new leaky blood vessels can grow from the blood supply underneath the retina (from the choroid layer), through lacquer cracks or areas of atrophy onto the retina
- Myopic macular degeneration - these degenerative changes can develop at the macula (the central part of the retina). Myopic macular degeneration is also known as myopic maculopathy, and can affect your central detailed vision.
