[Severe myopia or myopia-disease?]

An increased axial length over 26 mm is one of the characteristics of highly myopic eyes. High myopia represents a marked type of the refraction disorders in which distance vision is impaired and leads to wear glasses in childhood. But this high myopia is also a degenerative myopia due to the distension of the whole envelopes of the ocular bulb mainly at the posterior part of it. Prevalence of high myopia in the general population ranges from 1 to 4%. The disease is usually inherited and transmitted in a dominant fashion. Degenerative myopic eyes are potentially blind eyes due to many complications occurring during lifetime at the choroidal or retinal level. Vision threatening retinal detachments are frequent and severe, and are sometimes related to a macular hole. Other diseases including glaucoma and cataract are more frequently encountered in those eyes but may be managed with higher success. Specific oculo-motor disturbances and strabismus are also encountered. At present, the main risk threatening central vision is macular disease with lacquer cracks and hemorrhages associated with subretinal new vessels growth. Only laser photocoagulation can halt the progression of the disease and avoid or delay severe loss of central vision.