Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To study the preferred retinal locus of fixation (PRLs) in highly myopic patients with macular atrophy. Methods: Twenty eyes of 10 highly myopic patients (8 female, 2 male; mean age 62 ± 14 years old) with chorioretinal atrophy were included in this study. Lesion of macular scotoma and PRLs were evaluated with scanning laser ophthalmoscope microperimetry. Results: In 9 eyes with a macular scar involving the fovea, the PRLs were located around the margin of the scar. In 5 eyes with residual foveal function within the macular scotoma, 3 eyes had a stable foveal PRL and 2 eyes had lost this function. In 5 fellow eyes of 6 eyes with good central fixation, a pseudo-central fixation pattern was established within the atrophic macula area. In 8 cases, it could be demonstrated that the PRLs of the weaker eye aligned themselves with the stronger conjugate fixation area in the dominant eye. Conclusion: PRL location is not only determined by retinal functioning outside the area of chorioretinal atrophy, but is also strongly affected by binocular interactions. If possible, both eyes will use corresponding areas for fixation, often leading to the entity of pseudo-central fixation in the weaker eye. Evaluation of fixation and visual field examination in both eyes are important for the estimation of low vision rehabilitation potential.
Keywords: 481 myopia • 459 low vision