“What does pigmented lattice mean?”
My grandmother is 67 years old, and her doctor said that she has a pigmented lattice. What does this usually mean? Is it serious?
6 Answers
OphthalmologistPigmentedlattice
Lattice degeneration is a thinning of the peripheral retina. When lattice is present the retina is more susceptible to develop retinal breaks or tears.
It is a thinning of the peripheral retina. It's usually not serious, but can increase your chances of having a retinal tear.
Areas of thinning of the peripheral retina, the film in the back of your eye. These need to be examined regularly, about every 6 months with special viewing equipment, as they are prone sometimes to tears. If you see sudden onset of floaters in the vision of an eye you need to be seen that day to make sure the retina is not torn at one of those areas of lattice (looks like lattice work in a garden, hence the name!)
It is one of a group of peripheral changes of the retina seen in older patients. If there are no holes, the prognosis is good. You need to discuss it with the doctor.
The retina coats the inside of the back of the eye and is the film upon which light is focused so we can see. The retina is one size fits all at birth so as the eye grows as the body grows after birth, the retina gets stretched a little in its periphery. Mostly the retina can handle this. But in some cases the retina senses that the stretching is too much and a tear or hole is likely if it continues (which it will as long as growth continues). The response of the retina to this is to lay down scar tissue as a sort of glue to keep the retina from tearing at this overstressed place. This can be of many configurations, but a common one is parallel bands of pigment described by an early ophthalmologist who saw it as similar to the lattice work in a wall or a slatted fence. So, he called this lattice change or lattice degeneration. While this is there to prevent damage to the retina, it is also an area of weakness and retinal detachments occasionally originate at the lattice location. This is especially more likely to happen in the case of ocular trauma. When discovered this is usually ignored because most cause no problem. Your grandmother is unlikely to engage in activities that might cause ocular trauma (like boxing, construction work, high speed racing, etc.), so she probably will have no problem from this condition.
It's a degeneration in the retina. It may deteriorate when he gets older and can develop into retinal tears and detachment. See your doctor regularly to monitor.
