Cortical Spoking Cataracts

The top picture is the left eye of a patient and the bottom is the patient's right eye. You can see in the pupil that there is a cortical opacity, greater in the right eye than the left. Interestingly, this patient see's 20/20 in the right eye during the day. But at night the pupils get bigger and the light hits the cataract and causes starbursting of headlights. Very bad in the rain but nice at Christmas time when looking at lights.

CORTICAL CATARACT

you can see an opacity from 3:00 to 7:00 in the periphery of this lens. The light is reflected off the back of the eye to get this photo. This is called a cortical cataract. It may or may not get worse.

INTERESTING BLOOD VESSEL ON IRIS

This is no big deal. It's a blood vessel interwoven into the surface of the iris. It won't cause any problemd for this patient, just an interesting anomoly. The ones that cause concern are new, small blood vessels that can leak in the case of diabetes or other diseases where the eye is not getting enough oxygen.

SNAILTRACK DEGENERATION

The white area is thinning of the peripheral retina called "snailtrack degeneration". There is an increased risk of retinal tears or holes that could then lead to retinal detachment and potential loss of vision. Patient should be seen yearly and watch for floaters, flashes, and shadows in the vision.

TREATED RETINAL TEAR

Below is a picture of a retinal tear, surrounded by laser scars to keep it from becoming a detachment.

MACULAR SCAR

The macula is the area of the retina that serves our central vision. This patient has a scar in the center of his left macula (small whitish area in the center of the top picture). The bottom shows his normal right eye macula. Surprisingly, this patient see's 20/20. This kind of scar can come from sun starring when a child. Or there may be other causes. It is unlikely to cause problems in the future for this patient.