What does a hole in your macula look like?
In the early stages, a macular hole can cause blurred and distorted vision. Straight lines may look wavy or bowed, and you may have trouble reading small print. After a while, you may see a small black patch or a “missing patch” in the centre of your vision.
How quickly does a macular hole progress?
Most cases occur in people over the age of 60. At first, a macular hole may only cause a small blurry or distorted area in the center of vision. As the hole grows over several weeks or months, central vision progressively worsens.
How serious is a Stage 3 macular hole?
Stage 3: Full-Thickness Hole – When a macular hole develops to this stage, most central and detailed vision can be lost. A macular hole can lead to a detached retina, a sight-threatening condition that should receive immediate medical attention.
What does the eye look like after macular hole surgery?
Immediately after your vitrectomy for macular hole, and for the following five days, you won’t be able to see clearly with the operated eye; objects very close to the eye may be visible but anything further away will be very blurred. This is due to the gas in your eye preventing light from focusing on the retina.
What do you see with a macular hole?
Macular hole is when a tear or opening forms in your macula. As the hole forms, things in your central vision will look blurry, wavy or distorted. As the hole grows, a dark or blind spot appears in your central vision. A macular hole does not affect your peripheral (side) vision.
How do you know when the gas bubble in your eye is gone?
As the bubble absorbs this line descends through the field of vision. Depending on the gas, it can take between 2-6 weeks for the gas bubble to dissolve. As the gas dissolves, patients may notice that the bubble breaks up into several smaller bubbles until they finally disappear.
Will a macular hole get bigger?
However, in most cases, a macular hole will get bigger and distort vision, so treatment may be needed. Treatment attempts to stop the hole developing to a stage where most of your central vision can be lost.
What is a stage 2 macular hole?
Stages 2–4 include full-thickness macular holes, which are further divided into smaller holes (<400 μm in diameter (stage 2)), holes larger than 400 μm in diameter (stage 3) and with a complete posterior vitreous detachment (stage 4).
What is a stage 4 macular hole?
Stage 4 is when a full-thickness macular hole exists in the presence of a complete separation of the vitreous from the macula and the optic disc.
Can you go blind from a macular hole?
If left untreated, these holes can cause serious complications like a detached retina which will also cause problems with your peripheral vision and eventually lead to total blindness.
How long does it take for macular hole to close after vitrectomy?
The macular hole closed successfully in 27 (93.1%) of the 29 eyes in the 1-week group and in 21 (87.5%) of the 24 eyes in the 3-day group (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Although the frequency of hole closure differed slightly in the two study groups, the difference was far from statistically significant.
How long does it take to clear vision after vitrectomy?
It may take around two-four weeks or even more to get a clear vision after the vitrectomy procedure. The clarity of the vision after the procedure may be affected by the following factors: The eye drops used to dilate eyes during surgery may also cause blurry vision.