Myopia induced by vitreous hemorrhage

Six of 11 children developed myopia in one eye after vitreous hemorrhage. None had retinopathy of prematurity, glaucoma, aphakia, or scleral buckling. In seven children developing vitreous hemorrhage before 1 year of age, six exhibited a myopic anisometropia in the affected eye of 1.37 to 12.00 diopters (mean, -4.7 diopters; S.D., 4.0). The degree of myopia correlated with the age of onset and duration of media opacification. In the child without myopia, the hemorrhage did not obscure the posterior pole. None of the four children whose hemorrhage occurred after 2 1/2 years of age showed myopic anisometropia (mean, +0.16 diopters; S.D., 0.24). We conclude that vitreous hemorrhage occurring in infancy is strongly associated with the development of myopia in the affected eye.