High myopia is an uncommon type of myopia with some distinctive features.
Patient selection: myopia (near-sightedness)
Clinical features of high myopia:
(1) inherited (familial)
(2) the eyeball is either excessively long or the cornea is too steep
(3) it may progress during childhood (with frequent changes in the prescription) but stabilizes in early adulthood
(4) it may affect one or both eyes.
Criteria - one of the following:
(1) refractive error -6.00diopters or higher
(2) axial length > 26.5 mm
Complications in adult life:
(1) cataracts
(2) retinal detachment
(3) open-angle glaucoma
(4) myopic maculopathy or myopic macular degeneration
