Highly myopic

[Tanya4290]

Hi,
I am a 26 year old female with high myopie (-9.5 in left, -10.0 in right) I have had stable eyesight now for several years, although just this year my opthalmologist switched me to a -.5 prescription higher in each eye (he said I could have even better vision this way). I've worn glasses since I was 8 years old and contacts since I was 13. I've also never had any other problems with my eyes, the contacts, or anything else, although I do have a few floaters that I don't even notice anymore. My question is, if I have no history of any eye problems in my family (other than simple high myopia), and my MD says my eyes are very healthy, do I have a high chance of my eyesight getting much worse, going blind, or having any kind of serious eye problems (i.e. macular degenration or retinal detachment)? I am worried that I won't be able to wear contacts one day. Also, if I choose to in the future, are there any technologies that are available now, or may be in the future, to correct my vision completely? Currently I have 20/20 vision with my contacts.

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

You are at the limits of LASIK (if everything else is OK).  ICLs have a risk of cataracts or change in pupil shape.  There is a new Alcon ICL which seems promising.

Dr. O.

[AntonReiser]

Being highly myopic means that you are in higher risk of retinal detachment than other people. You should have your retina checked every year or whenever there is a change in vision.
Contacts are the best option for you. But be prepared to switch to glasses in case your eyes get an infection or allergy or something like that.
There are two treatments you could have. An additional lens(ICL) could be implanted into your eye which corrects your myopia or you could have early cataract surgery (CLE = clear lens extraction). But both surgeries increase the risk of retinal detachment and may have other side effects.
So stay with your contacts.