Colooboma Case Studies

Coloboma of the eye relates to an eye abnormality before birth, around the second month of development that causes the eye to be missing pieces of tissue that help for the eye. The abnormal formation can appear as gaps or holes in parts of the eye. A Coloboma can affect the iris, retina, the blood vessel layer under the retina, or the optic nerves and can be present in either one or both eyes. If involving the retina, vision loss is usually found in the upper part of the eye and those affecting the optic nerve can cause low vision, which cannot be corrected with glasses. A Coloboma has a one in ten thousand chance of affecting someone. Coloboma can also go unnoticed because they do not always cause vision loss. Coloboma is not an inherited trait and usually only affects one person in a family. Risk of acquiring a Coloboma rises with environmental factors such as exposure to alcohol during the pregnancy.
Anophthalmia is when no eyeball forms at all during gestation. Coloboma combined with Microphthalmia can also increase the chance of cataracts, glaucoma, myopia and retinal detachment. This relates to me as my little cousin who is ten was born with optical Coloboma and microphthalmia. Her Coloboma is in her retina and her optic nerve of her right eye. She was able to see fully out of both eyes until the age of seven. Then she lost almost all vision in her right eye, but on good days can make out shadows and figures of items. She has a perfectly good left eye, but because of the right she is legally