How shortsighted can cause retinal tears or detachment? would flying frequently make it worse?

 

 

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 11/08/2016 - 12:58
Country
Germany
Age
24
Gender
Male
Did you perform any surgery for the eyes?

Laser Retinopexy, PRK Surgery

Do you suffer from pre-existing illnesses in the eye?
No
Do you suffer from any diseases in the body?
No
Do you use any eye drops?
No
Do you use any eye drops?
No

Question

 

 

Hi,

I had a PRK Surgery couple of months back, I was short-sighted in both eyes in about 5 to 6 degrees each eye; doctors ran some tests to diagnose other possible defects on my eyes before initiating the PRK surgery.

They found out that I have two retinal tears (or detachments) in my left eye and one retinal tear in my right eye, which they said is a common issue for short-sighted eyes and can easily be fixed, so they suggested "Laser Retinopexy" treatment a week before my PRK surgery

I was told that short-sighted eyes are common to have retinal detachments because the retina gets more expanded like balloons and it leads to retinal tears in the areas that are more expanded.

Now I'm not sure how accurate this explanation was or how accurate can I remember what the doctor said, 
 

 

So can you explain this to me in more details and clinical senses? Is there an animation somewhere that depicts this concept?

More importantly, now that I'm not short-sighted any more, is my retina still at risk? or would its shape goes back to normal as the time passes?

And since I'm into pilotage, would flying at high altitudes with light planes (that don't keep cabin pressure) can make my condition worse?

Thanks 

 

Answer

Thanks for your Question

In shortsighted person or people with myopia, the eyeball is longer than other people. To accommodate this length, retina is stretched and some weak points developed in the peripheral parts of the retina that are called peripheral retinal degeneration.

Holes and tears can developed in these weak points. In order to prevent retinal detachment, these holes are sealed with Argon laser called laser retinopexy. Most likely you have peripheral retinal hole not retinal detachment. Refractive surgery shouldn't be done in patients with retinal detachment.

In general, Travel with airplane is not contraindicated for people who had laser retinopexy but you should ask your doctor about this issue. After PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), the condition of your retina will still the same , so i prefer to have regular follow up with your eye doctor for example once a year.

 

 

Lattice degeneration
lattice degeneration with tear that surrounded by laser

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