Nearsightedness (Myopia)

The left picture shows an example of how people with normal visual acuity see, the right picture shows how nearsighted people see.

Nearsightedness (Myopia) - is a visual disorder when people can see clearly near situated objects, but have a difficulty in seeing the distant ones. Myopia has become wide spread and you will find both children and adults among those who suffer.

With myopia light beams focus in front of retina and image becomes blurred.

This happens because of inconsistency between optical power of the eye and its length, and has two reasons:

• Lens and cornea refract the light beams too hard
• Eye becomes too long, and retina moves away from focus. Normal length of the eye is 23-24 mm, with myopia it reaches 30 mm and more. Each mm of the eye’s length increases myopia for 3 diopters.

Specialists determine 3 degrees of myopia:

• low - up to 3 diopters;
• medium – from 3 to 6 diopters;
• high – more than 6 diopters.

Reasons for myopia development:

Main considered reasons usually are:

• hereditary disposition expressed in peculiarities of eyeball structure and its metabolism;
• weak sclera that doesn’t resist eye extension as it should;
• insufficient development of accommodation muscle which is responsible for lens focusing;
• excessive visual work with nearby objects (without break for eyes, and in poor light)

Myopia symptoms

Generally, myopia develops during childhood and becomes noticeable in school age. Children start to have difficulties in seeing distant objects, can’t distinguish letters and numbers written on a blackboard, and try to sit closer to the TV. While looking at distant objects people who suffer myopia often narrow their eyes.

Apart from difficulties in seeing distant objects, people who suffer myopia see badly in twilight: in the evening time people with myopia are hard to orient themselves on the street or drive a car.

To correct their eyesight people with myopia have to wear contact lenses or glasses, which correct light refraction but do not stop myopia progress.

If your eyesight is becoming worse and you have to change glasses it means that myopia is progressing. This happens because eyeball grows too long.

Progressing myopia is not just a harmless visual defect that can be eliminated with glasses; it is a disease with serious consequences.

Children suffer from progressive myopia mostly in the age from 7 to 15. Eyeball grows, blood vessels of retina grow longer which leads to deficient retina nutrition and as a result visual acuity becomes worse. There might appear holes, and that may cause retinal detachment. This is the most severe myopia complication when visual acuity is significantly reduced with possibility of total blindness.

Diagnostics

A complex examination with high precision diagnostic equipment is offered at Fyodorov’s Clinic.

Performed:

• refractometry – determination of refraction (optical power) of the eyes and myopia degree;
• keratometry - determination of corneal refraction (optical power)
• examination of visual acuity with and without correction;
• ultrasound measuring of the eye length;
• ultrasound measuring of the corneal thickness in its different parts;
• ophthalmoscopy – investigation of fundus of eye to see the state of retina, vessels, and visual nerve.

Specialist can prescribe more examinations if necessary.

Treatment

Here are main directions for myopia treatment:

• to stop pathological eye growth;
• prevent possible myopia complications;
• myopia correction;

Different methods of myopia correction and treatment were developed and successfully used at Fyodorov’s Clinic.

• Scleroplastic operations are performed to stop eye from growing. During such operation strips of biological materials are put behind the eyeball, like bandages they wrap the eye and do not let it grow longer. Later these vessels grows into material and eye starts getting more blood and nutrients.
• Laser treatment is done to prevent myopia complications. Laser beam “cauterizes” retina to the vascular membrane in thin places or around its ruptures preventing the most severe myopia complication – retinal detachment.

When pathological eye growth is stopped and preventive measures against complications are done, surgical correction of myopia may be performed.

• Keratotomy is performed when myopia is not more than 6, 0 diopters. During this operation non-penetrating incisions are made on cornea. Due to those incisions cornea becomes more flat and its refractive power decreases.
• Eximer-laser correction Lasik-operation is recommended with myopia up to 12,0 diopters and is the most popular and safe technique for myopia correction all over the world.
• Minus-power lens Implantation is done with high degree of myopia when operations mentioned above are not recommended. In this case a mini lens is put in front of the natural lens. It neutralizes the excessive refractive power of the myopic eye.
• Lens extraction and IOL implantation is done with corrective purpose with high-degree myopia, especially if there is some haziness in the lens.

Purpose of all refractional operations is to reduce refractive power of the myopic eye. Each of them has its own indications, and contraindications. Considering results of all examinations, doctors at Fyodorov’s Clinic will offer the most optimum operation for YOUR eyes. Femtosecond laser correction of myopia and astigmatism. (лишнее?)