Anophthalmia

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia develop during pregnancy and can occur alone, with other birth defects, or as part of a syndrome. Anophthalmia and microphthalmia often result in blindness or limited vision.

Occurrence

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia are rare. Researchers estimate that about 1 in every 5,300 babies born in the United States will have anophthalmia or microphthalmia.1 This means about 780 U.S. babies are born with these conditions each year.

Causes and Risk Factors

The causes of anophthalmia and microphthalmia among most infants are unknown. Some babies have anophthalmia or microphthalmia because of a change in their genes or chromosomes. Anophthalmia and microphthalmia can also be caused by taking certain medicines, like isotretinoin (Accutane®) or thalidomide, during pregnancy. These medicines can lead to a pattern of birth defects, which can include anophthalmia or microphthalmia. These defects might also be caused by a combination of genes and other factors, such as the things the mother comes in contact with in the environment or what the mother eats or drinks, or certain medicines she uses during pregnancy.

Diagnosis

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia can either be diagnosed during pregnancy or after birth.

Diagnosis

• During pregnancy, doctors can often identify anophthalmia and microphthalmia through an ultrasound or a CT scan (special x-ray test) and sometimes with certain genetic testing.
• After birth, a doctor can identify anophthalmia and microphthalmia by examining the baby. A doctor will also perform a thorough physical exam to look for any other birth defects that may be present.

Treatment

There is no treatment available that will create a new eye or that will restore complete vision for those affected by anophthalmia or microphthalmia. A baby born with one of these conditions should be seen by a team of special eye doctors:

The eye sockets are critical for a baby’s face to grow and develop properly. If a baby has one of these conditions, the bones that shape the eye socket may not grow properly. Babies can be fitted with a plastic structure called a conformer that can help the eye socket and bones to grow properly. As babies get older, these devices will need to be enlarged to help expand the eye socket. Also, as children age, they can be fitted for an artificial eye.

A team of eye specialists should frequently monitor children with these conditions early in life. If other conditions arise, like a cataract or detached retina, children might need surgery to repair these other conditions. If anophthalmia or microphthalmia affects only one eye, the ophthalmologist can suggest ways to protect and preserve sight in the healthy eye. Depending on the severity of anophthalmia and microphthalmia, children might need surgery. It is important to talk to their team of eye specialists to determine the best plan of action.

Babies born with these conditions can often benefit from early interventionExternal and therapy to help their development and mobility.

Topics in Ophthalmology

• Macular degeneration (AMD)
• Amblyopia
• Anophthalmia and * Microphthalmia
• Astigmatism
• Blepharitis
• Cataract
• Color blindness
• Cornea and Corneal disease
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Dry eye
• Floaters
• Glaucoma
• Hyperopia
• Intracranial hypertension
• Low vision
• Macular edema
• Myopia
• Pink Eye or Conjunctivitis
• Presbyopia
• Refractive errors
• Retinal detachment
• Retinitis pigmentosa
• Retinoblastoma
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Uveitis
• Vitreous detachment

---

National Eye Institute Eye Topics A Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Age-Related Eye Disease Study--Results Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Facts About AGI Seminar Series in Neuroregeneration Amblyopia Amblyopia Treatment Study (ATS I) Amblyopia, Facts About Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia Anophthalmia and Microphthalmia, Facts About Astigmatism Astigmatism, Facts About Audacious Goals Initiative (AGI) B Behçet’s Disease of the Eye, Facts About Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy, Facts About Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Biochemistry Section Bioinformatics Group Biological Imaging Core Facility Blepharitis Blepharitis, Facts About Blepharospasm Blepharospasm, Facts About C Career Information for Postdoctoral and Clinical Fellows Cataract Cataract, Facts About Children's Materials Clinical and Translational Imaging Unit Clinical Immunology Clinical Studies Clinical Trials in Vision Research Color Blindness Color Blindness, Facts About Cornea and Corneal Disease Cornea and Corneal Disease, Facts About The D Diabetic Eye Disease Diabetic Retinopathy, Facts About Diagram of the Eye Diagram of the Eye Before and After Dilated Eye Exam Dry Eye Dry Eye, Fact about E Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT) Experimental Immunology Section Eye Health Information Eye Movements and Visual Selection, Section on eyeGENE® F Facts About Lighthouse International Fax Numbers Financial Aid for Eye Care Finding an Eye Care Professional Fiscal Operations Plan Floaters Floaters, Facts About

G Glaucoma Glaucoma runs in families Glaucoma, Facts About Global Health Vision Lecture Series   H Healthy Eyes Healthy Eyes Facts Healthy Eyes Toolkit Hyperopia Hyperopia, Facts About I Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, Facts about Immunoregulation Section K Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) Study L Low Vision Macular Edema Macular Edema , Facts About Macular Hole Macular Hole, Facts About Macular Pucker Macular Pucker, Facts About Minutes of Past NAEC Meetings Molecular Immunology Section Molecular Mechanisms Section Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment (MUST) Trial Myopia Myopia, Facts About N NEI Symposium: The Role of Immunology in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Neurobiology Neurodegeneration & Repair Laboratory (NNRL)[1] O P Photos and Images Pink Eye Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis) Presbyopia Presbyopia, Facts About

R Rare Diseases Refractive Errors Refractive Errors, Facts About Regulation of Gene Expression Section Report on the NEI Audacious Goals Initiative: Regenerating the Optic Nerve Research at NEI Retinal Detachment Retinal Detachment, Facts About Retinal Disease Retinal Ganglion Cell Biology, Section on Retinitis Pigmentosa Retinitis Pigmentosa, Facts About Retinoblastoma Retinoblastoma, Facts About Retinopathy of Prematurity Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), Facts About S Sayer Vision Research Lecture and Award Series See Well for a Lifetime Toolkit—Module 1 See Well for a Lifetime Toolkit—Module 2 See Well for a Lifetime Toolkit—Module 3 Sensation, Cognition and Action Section Simulations, Eye Disease Symposium: Immunology of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) T Third-Party Websites and Applications (TPWA)[2] U Usher Syndrome Usher Syndrome,Facts About Uveal Coloboma Uveal Coloboma, Facts About Uveitis Uveitis, Facts About V Vision-Related Terms--Selected Online Sources Vitreous Detachment Vitreous Detachment, Facts About W World Glaucoma Week Y You Could Have Glaucoma and Not Know it YouTube Videos

This article is a medical stub. You can help WikiMD by expanding it!
Most recent articles Ongoing trials	Wikipedia

   This article is a medical stub. You can help WikiMD by expanding it!

• Error creating thumbnail:
  Anophthalmia
• Clinical images of anophthalmia and microphthalmia
  Clinical images of anophthalmia and microphthalmia