pressumed occular histoplasmosis

Posted by michele irwin on August 13, 1999 at 12:51:15
My husband has it. It was discovered at a routine eye exam in 95. He went right in to a specialist, and at that time it was not active. He was sent home with the aglar test, and aprox one year later it became active. His vision at that time was 20/30. The legion was close to the macula, however not causing problems with vision. The dr. who was not confident in his abilities to do the surgery, said that he wanted to try to shrink it with steriods, because he was good at lasering. Many months went on, and finally my husband was send else where for the surgery. By the time surgery was done, his vision was 20/200. He has had the surgery again, and now his vision is 20/400. My question is, would it
have been the best for my husband to have had the surgery while his vision was still good? He does have it in the other eye, and I truely do not want him to loose central vision in both eyes. At his last appt. the dr. told us, it was the end of the road for his bad eye. What is there is there, and that is 20/400 vision.(with his glasses on) I thank you for your help. I would like to get him to another doctor if you think his left eyes vision could possibly have been saved by quicker action.

Posted by hfhs md - ni on August 16, 1999 at 10:04:40
It sounds like your husband has had new blood vessels growing under the retina which can cause retinal damage and permanent loss of vision.  This is a difficult condition to treat and if the are of best vision is damaged, permanent damage can result.  The main options are laser and in some cases surgery.  There are some trials underway with newer surgical options.  I would recommend you discuss these options with your ophthalmologist and possibly have him refer you to an academic center involved in these trials for a consultation.
This information is for educational purposes only.

Posted by m. hardy on August 17, 1999 at 21:20:27
can you give me information on; how one acquires "presumed occular histoplasmosis" i.e. what causes it etc..., how it can be diagnosed, how it is different from toxoplasmosis &/or histoplasmosis choridrentinitis, and what are the current treatments (radical and otherwise), how common is it, is there much progressive research being done, are there any preventive measures that can be taken once diagnosed with it to keep it from advancing further, AND is  
the eventual complete loss of vision inevitible?

Posted by hfhs md - ni on August 18, 1999 at 21:31:52
Toxoplasmosis is a different condition and can be separated by examining the retina.  Presumed ocular histoplasmosis and histoplasmosis chorioretinits are the same condition.  In most cases, it is not associated significant loss of vision.  The most important thing is to maintain follow-up with your ophthalmologist and reporting any changes in vision promptly.