Question

“My child is seven years old and just started first grade. We discovered that they have poor vision, and after a hospital check-up, it was confirmed that they have macular development deficiency. Why is this happening? What should we do?”

Answer

“Hello: The yellow spot developmental abnormality accompanied by abnormal vascular anastomosis is also known as macular defect with vascular anomaly, which is a congenital abnormality. Patients may have a family history or genetic history. Macular congenital abnormalities are not uncommon, but there are occasional reports domestically. However, macular development defects with abnormal vascular anastomosis are rare cases. According to the degree of choroidal exposure and the amount of pigment, macular defects are divided into three types: 1) Pigmented type; 2) Apigmented type; 3) Macular defect (pigmented or apigmented). Vascular anomalies are more common, and this case belongs to the third type. Usually, the condition cannot be detected at birth, but it can be found in early childhood due to poor vision. This case is unilateral and vision decline was noticed at a young age. The fundus manifestations of macular defects are diverse. The defects are located in or near the macula, flat or slightly concave, with shapes, sizes, and colors ranging from pale with only a small amount of pigment surrounding to thick brown with 1-10 PD size. The retinal blood vessels in the defect area run normally or curve, turn, or anastomose with the vessels emitted from the defect area.”