Teen with Pathological Myopia

My son was recently sent to  a retinal specialist due to significant changes in the appearance of his retina.  We were told that he has degenerative changes to his retina due to the "pear shape" of his eye (he is highly myopic    
(-11.5 L and -6.25 R).  The specialists report to his optometrist indicates that he has severe choroidal atrophy with tilting of the optic disc.  He also has a posterior staphyloma.  We were told to have his eyes checked every 6 months by his optometrist (we live 200 miles away from the retina specialist) because he is at high risk for retinal detachment.  Will he lose his eyesight?  We told him he couldn't participate in football this year, but is that necessary?  What about all the other sports he plays?  He is very athletic and it was heartbreaking for him not to play football.  Our optometrist didn't know the answer to these questions.

Thank You

[Houman Vosoghi, MD]

No one can predict if he will lose any eyesight although he is at increased risk compared to the average person.  I would definitely stay away from high contact sports such as football.  It would be hard to forbid a teenager from all sports so you have to use your judgement.  Sports goggles are a minimum with other sports.  Call the retina specialist who examined his eyes and ask over the phone regarding which sports may be OK.  I have read somewhere that not reading (focusing near) for more than 30 minutes at a time may help slow the progression of myopia in young patients but this is not medical fact (I can't see why it would hurt to take a five minute break from reading and computer work every 25 minutes to look into the distance and relax the focusing muscles of the eyes).  Good luck.

HV