Suffering an injury is devastating. If your condition affects your eye, you expect a Virginia doctor to be able to properly diagnose you. However, there are three retinal conditions that commonly go misdiagnosed. This usually happens because these conditions closely resemble other eye disorders.
Macular hole
A macular hole is an injury of the eye that is commonly misdiagnosed. Instead, with such a diagnosis, it’s usually a lamellar macular hole that is affecting a patient. While the two conditions are similar, a macular hole is more serious than a lamellar macular hole. A macular hole goes through all layers of the retina, but a lamellar macular hole doesn’t extend as far. It also requires surgery as a treatment option, but the lesser condition, a lamellar macular hole, doesn’t require surgery unless the patient’s vision weakens.
Retinoschisis
Patients who have an injury involving retinal detachment are often misdiagnosed with peripheral retinoschisis. The two conditions are similar as both involve retinas that are elevated in the eye. However, with retinoschisis, the retina is very thin and takes on a specific shape with white dots surrounding it. Retinal detachment doesn’t involve those characteristics and can cause a person to lose sight. Retinal detachments are treated through surgery while peripheral retinoschisis is watched by a doctor but doesn’t cause vision loss.
Central retinal vein occlusion
Another commonly misdiagnosed eye injury is central retinal vein occlusion. It’s often confused with diabetic retinopathy as both conditions can lead to macular edema. However, central retinal vein occlusion or CRVO differs in spite of sharing similarities with diabetic retinopathy.
As a patient, you deserve to have excellent care and treatment. You should also expect to receive a correct diagnosis if you have a medical condition affecting the retina. A misdiagnosis means you may not receive the treatment you need. If this has happened to you and you have been harmed as a result, you have a right to file a claim to recover damages.