Choroidal nevi are benign pigmented spots located within the choroid layer of your eye. While usually harmless, regular monitoring is essential for maintaining your eye health.
A choroidal nevus is essentially a benign birthmark found inside your eye, specifically in the pigmented layer known as the choroid beneath the retina. Most of the time, these nevi are harmless and do not cause any symptoms, making them similar to the freckles or moles you might find on your skin. Regular monitoring by our eye doctors is key to ensuring that these small spots remain benign, so you can feel confident in your eye health.
Just like a birthmark on your skin, a choroidal nevus is a pigmented spot in the eye. It appears as a brown or grayish-brown patch located within the choroid, a layer of tissue that supplies blood to the retina. These spots are usually discovered during routine eye examinations using specialized imaging tools, because they are not visible to the naked eye.
In many cases, a choroidal nevus is so subtle that it causes no noticeable changes in vision. Often, they also contain tiny deposits known as drusen, which are small yellow or white spots that can develop over time. Drusen are a normal finding with aging and do not necessarily indicate any problem.
Here’s the thing: most choroidal nevi remain completely benign and do not interfere with your daily activities or vision. In rare instances, however, a nevus may develop features that could indicate it is at a higher risk of growing into a more serious condition called melanoma. According to current medical observations, only about one in every 5,000 choroidal nevi develops into a malignant melanoma, making this transformation extremely uncommon.
Despite the low risk, it’s vital to treat any changes in your vision or the appearance of the nevus with the utmost attention. Think of it as similar to the way you might keep an eye on a mole on your skin. Even though most moles are harmless, regular monitoring is important, and the same careful watchfulness applies to choroidal nevi.
Schedule a comprehensive eye examination with our team to ensure your choroidal nevus remains stable and benign.
Because choroidal nevi rarely cause symptoms, they are most often found during a comprehensive eye exam. Our eye doctors use a variety of detailed imaging tools to visualize the back of the eye and capture the precise characteristics of the nevus.
Several tests and imaging methods help in evaluating a choroidal nevus:
These tests are essential for documenting the size, shape, and other characteristics of a choroidal nevus over time, ensuring that any subtle changes are caught early.
A visual comparison often helps in understanding what exactly we’re looking at during an examination. A typical choroidal nevus will have:
It is important to note that while these characteristics help our eye doctors differentiate a benign nevus from more concerning lesions like melanoma, they are not a cause for immediate alarm if found during your exam.
Schedule a comprehensive eye examination with our team to ensure your choroidal nevus remains stable and benign.
Choroidal nevus are benign eye spots. Regular monitoring is key to ensuring your eye health and peace of mind.
