Perifoveal Telangiectasia - What is it ?

Perifoveal Telangiectasia is a disorder of retina. In this disease the macular portion of the eye gets affected adversely. This is because the blood vessels grow abnormally in the perifoveal region. For this reason it is better known as macular telangiectasis. It is characterized by an infection in which the blood capillaries of the retina become dilated because the path of flow of blood increases. These dilations are more towards the foveal area. Slowly and gradually the dilation encircles the fovea completely. As the perifoveal telangiectasia grows in severity, the infected capillaries which had become dilated start getting pigmented. This pigmentation slowly spreads to the lower portion of the retina. During this stage, an angiography reveals certain crystals in the vitreo- retinal region. An Ophthalmic Coherence Tomography also shows a cyst in this region. It is with these symptoms that we understand the extent and stage of perifoveal telangiectasia infection.

The perifoveal telangiectasia basically occurs in two different stages. These are better known as proliferative and non-proliferative stage. In the former case there is just a leakage that occurs in the capillaries of the retina. However the later stage is more dangerous because in this stage new blood vessels start getting proliferated in the region. This abnormal growth can have very dangerous impacts on the retina. In worst cases there may be development of a fibrotic scar. This scar has the worst impact because it leads to a complete loss in vision. So it is very important to get perifoveal telangiectasia diagnosed and treated well in advance.