White Without Pressure in the left eye

[ig77]

I saw a Retinal Specialist yesterday and he mentioned that he sees a suspicious area in my left eye and referred to it as White without Pressure. He said that the whitening is preventing him to clearly see that area and it may or may not be masking a retinal tear.

1. What is the probability that this maybe masking a tear?
2. What is the usual prognosis of "white without pressure"
3. He mentioned that it's usually seen in myopic people. My left and right eye has the same prescription (-4.50). Any reason why this is happening only in the left eye. I did have an injury a few months back. Could that have caused it?
4. Any precautions (laser?) that can be taken to reverse/prevent this from getting worse?

Thanks

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

1. very low  2. usually very benign, its common and by itself not very concerning  3  WWOP is extremely common, increases as we get older and incidence range from 20-60%  It usually does not cause any problem.  3. No no reason.  4. WWOP and WWP (with pressure) are merely the appearance of the retina and do not require any treatment, there is in fact no specific treatment for WWOP or WWP.

[ig77]

I forgot to mention that I do experience flashes in the same eye. Could this because of a retinal tear/hole that the WWOP is masking?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

WWP and WWOP do not cause flashes. Flashes are caused usually by vitreous traction. that in turn is one cause of WWP/WWOP