A staphyloma means a protrusion or a bulge and is more common in nearsighted eyes with higher prescriptions, over about 7 units of power. The layers of the eye will be thinner due to the presence of a staphyloma and thus able to support the structure and the health of the eye less well. The Choroid is one of the layers at the back of the eye and provides nutrition to the retina. If the Choroid is thin there is less oxygen available to the retina, leading to ischaemia. This can lead to inflammation and is a trigger for raised VEGF levels. raised VEGF levels can lead to macular changes. Furthermore the retina is also significantly thinner in those eyes and retinal breaks are more common. Below are two OCT scans the one at the top is of a nearsighted eye which shows a deep bow at the back of the eye, the lower one is of an eye with a low prescription and shows a flatter scan:
