WUHAN, CHINA — With severe short-sightedness of -30.00 dioptre (or 3,000 degree), a woman had suffered a retinal detachment and finally had to have one of her eyeballs removed due to glaucoma complications brought by several retinal repair surgeries.
According to China media Hubei Jingshi(湖北经视), Madam Leong from Wuhan, who suffered from extreme myopia, wore glasses that were 1.2cm thick.
“Sometimes I fall when going upstairs because I can’t see clearly. It doesn’t help much to seek diagnosis for short-sightedness, so I only wear glasses.”
It was only ten years ago that Madam Leong sought a medical checkup after she found her eyesight “blocked” by some sort of large object.
It was later diagnosed that she had a retinal detachment due to severe myopia.
Dr Lu Xiulan, deputy chief of the Department of Ophthalmic Cosmetic Surgery from Aier Eye Hospital, said Madam Leong’s myopia had exceeded the highest degree that can be measured by conventional instruments in hospitals.
“We can only estimate based on her eyeball axial length.”
Dr Lu explained that the axial length of an average person’s eye is about 22 to 24 mm, but Mdm Leong’s eye axial length has reached 35 mm due to long-term myopia, which is estimated to be above 3,000 degrees.
Like a blown balloon, Mdm Leong’s eyeball retina got thinner and thinner. Her retina might detach with just a slight force, such as coughing or sneezing.
Mdm Leong had undergone a total of four retinal repair surgeries over the past ten years.
Unfortunately, she was eventually forced to remove her eyeball due to glaucoma complications brought about by the surgeries. Currently, Mdm Leong has a prosthetic eye in place of her removed eyeball.
According to info from Myopia Control Singapore website, high myopia of above –6.00 dioptres, often called pathological myopia is associated with eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataract.
Any myopia exceeding –6.00 dioptres or 600 degrees is considered high. Over 800 degrees is considered severe, and over 1,200 degrees extreme.
