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Eye Care (Expert Forum)
7-year old Macular (hole) scar . . . can it get worse?
Answered by
Michael J Kutryb, MD - Ophthalmology, Cataract Surgery, glaucoma, Laser Vision Correct
Kutryb Eye Institute - Titusville
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
7-year old Macular (hole) scar . . . can it get worse?
by Christian77, Mar 05, 2009 05:03PM
Good day:
I developed a Macular Hole back in mid-2002, in my left eye, which affected my central vision in that eye. I'm now 31 years old. I was advised by my opthalmologist at the time to get it treated with surgery. At the time I was rather scared at the prospect of having someone touch my eyes, so I left it as it was. I didn't appreciate how easy (relatively) the procedure was. I have almost no central vision in that eye but my peripheral vision is fine. In fact, in time I hardly noticed the problem. I learned to live with it. It wasn't so bad that my daily life was affected drastically.
I recently had to get new glasses and decided to finally do something about my problem. My opthalmologist advised me that my macular hole was now covered by scar tissue and he doesn't know what can be done at this point. He referred me to a specialist.
My question is this: Will this problem worsen (if by chance nothing can be done)? It seems to have simply scarred over, and I haven't noticed any more loss of central vision over the last few years.
I developed a Macular Hole back in mid-2002, in my left eye, which affected my central vision in that eye. I'm now 31 years old. I was advised by my opthalmologist at the time to get it treated with surgery. At the time I was rather scared at the prospect of having someone touch my eyes, so I left it as it was. I didn't appreciate how easy (relatively) the procedure was. I have almost no central vision in that eye but my peripheral vision is fine. In fact, in time I hardly noticed the problem. I learned to live with it. It wasn't so bad that my daily life was affected drastically.
I recently had to get new glasses and decided to finally do something about my problem. My opthalmologist advised me that my macular hole was now covered by scar tissue and he doesn't know what can be done at this point. He referred me to a specialist.
My question is this: Will this problem worsen (if by chance nothing can be done)? It seems to have simply scarred over, and I haven't noticed any more loss of central vision over the last few years.
Doctor's Answer
by Michael J Kutryb, MD, Mar 05, 2009 09:17PM
, Mar 05, 2009 09:17PM
No, most likely the macular hole will not worsen if it is complete. Now, we really don't have the complete picture of your case, so I'm just talking about complete macular holes. I would certainly get one or two separate opinions from retinal specialists to see if surgery might be beneficial. If so, you should strongly consider it because if anything ever happened to the good eye you will be wishing you could see with the other. If there is a limited window of time that the hole can be worked on, you might not want to let it pass by.
MJK MD
MJK MD
I appreciate the advice.