🧠 Coats disease is a rare retinal disorder that primarily affects children—most often boys between the ages of 6 months and 10 years. It is characterized by polymorphic changes in retinal blood vessels, including the formation of telangiectasias and aneurysms (mostly in the peripheral retina), extensive intra- and subretinal exudation, hemorrhages, and frequent development of exudative retinal detachment.

🧪 Key Features of Coats Disease:

• Unilateral involvement — in 90% of cases, only one eye is affected
• Early onset — typically manifests before age 10

• Non-tumorous nature, though symptoms may mimic intraocular tumors such as retinoblastoma (important for differential diagnosis)

🧠 Cause:
The exact etiology remains unknown. It is believed to be linked to spontaneous mutations in endothelial cells of retinal vessels. No hereditary pattern has been established.

📸 Clinical Signs:

• Decreased vision in one eye
• Strabismus (crossed eyes)

• Leukocoria (white pupillary reflex)

• Secondary glaucoma (elevated intraocular pressure)

• Severe cases may lead to complete vision loss

🧪 Diagnostic Methods:

• Ophthalmoscopy — detects vascular abnormalities and exudates
• Fluorescein angiography — visualizes leakage from abnormal vessels

• OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) — shows retinal structure and subretinal fluid

• Ocular ultrasound — used in cases of leukocoria or media opacity to rule out retinoblastoma

⚠️ Prognosis:

• Early stages — favorable with timely treatment
• Advanced cases — may result in total vision loss, painful eye, and need for enucleation (eye removal)

Recent advances in treatment have significantly improved outcomes for children with Coats disease. At the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmopathology of the V.P. Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, under the leadership of Professor Nadiia Fedorivna Bobrova, modern and comprehensive care is provided for these patients.

⏰ Early detection saves sight! Don’t ignore changes in your child’s eyes.

📍 If you have concerns, contact the Filatov Institute:

+38 (048) 707-23-53 – Reception

+38 (048) 794-17-98 – Information Desk