Choroidal Melanoma Specialist

What is choroidal melanoma?

Choroidal melanoma is a rare form of cancer of the eye. While only 5-10 out of a million people are diagnosed each year with choroidal melanoma, routine eye checkups are important to ensure you’re not at risk.

To diagnose choroidal melanoma, your doctor may use testing methods that include:

Eye exam

Your doctor looks for enlarged blood vessels that can show signs of a tumor inside your eye. 

Eye ultrasound

High-frequency sound waves from a hand-held device produce images of your eye.

Angiogram

Colored dye injected into a vein in your arm travels to the blood vessels in your eye. Pictures are taken of the blood vessels in and around the tumor.

Optical coherence tomography

This method creates pictures of portions of the uveal tract and retina.

Biopsy 

This method involves removing a sample of suspicious tissue for testing.

If choroidal melanoma is detected or diagnosed, it can spread to other parts of the body, making it extremely important to seek treatment immediately.

When consulting with the team at Retina Consultants Ltd., your exam includes:

• Pupil dilation
• Ultrasound of the eye
• Specialized photography

Your medical history is also examined by your ophthalmologist at Retina Consultants Ltd.

What causes choroidal melanoma?

There are no clear-cut reasons for why choroidal melanoma develops. The research concludes that melanoma occurs when an error develops in your DNA that’s out of the healthy range. Your DNA tells the cells to grow out of control, meaning mutated cells continue to grow instead of dying. When mutated cells build up in the eye, the eye can form melanoma.

The condition commonly develops in the middle layer of your eye, which has three parts:

Iris

This is the part of the eye that’s visible to others. It’s what determines your eye color.

Choroid layer

This is the layer of blood vessels and connective tissue at the back of the middle layer of your eye.

Ciliary body

This is in the middle layer of your eye that secretes liquid into your eye.

When any of these layers are affected, your eye health needs attention. Getting an eye exam at Retina Consultants Ltd. is the key to warding off dangerous symptoms and getting your eye health on the right track.

What are the symptoms of choroidal melanoma?

Melanoma in the eye doesn’t always have signs or symptoms. When they do occur, you should look for the following:

• Blurred vision
• Floaters
• Visual fluid loss
• Severe ocular pain
• Growing dark spots
• Loss of peripheral vision
• Change in pupil shape

If you’re experiencing signs or symptoms that concern you, the expert ophthalmologists at Retina Consultants Ltd. can treat your condition and get your eye health on the right track.

To schedule an appointment today with the team at Retina Consultants Ltd., call an office near you or book your appointment online for complete eye restoration.