Dislocation can be treated by a combination of special glasses and daily use of one percent atropine sulfate ophthalmic drops, or by surgery.
Patients with Marfan should have a thorough eye examination, including a slit-lamp examination, to test for dislocation of the lens as well as nearsightedness.
Cataracts are treated with increasing success by implant surgery. It is important, however, to seek treatment at medical centers with eye surgeons familiar with the possible complications of cataract surgery in patients with Marfan syndrome.
Myopia (nearsightedness). Most patients with Marfan develop nearsightedness, usually in childhood.
Because patients with Marfan are at increased risk of glaucoma, they should have the fluid pressure inside the eye measured every year as part of an eye examination. Glaucoma can be treated with medications or with surgery.
Recent advances in Marfan syndrome treatment have prolonged the life expectancy of patients considerably. Changes in how the syndrome is treated, including medication, surgical interventions, and monitoring for complications of the syndrome (eg, aneurysms), are all responsible for the increase in life expectancy. The prolongation in life expectancy can be seen by taking a look at statistics from 1972, in which the life expectancy was 32 years, and from 1996, where patients with Marfan syndrome had a life expectancy of 61 years.
This condition is much more prevalent in patients with Marfan syndrome than in the general population.
Retinal detachment. Patients with Marfan are more vulnerable to this disorder because of the weakness of their connective tissues.
Between 50 and 80% of Marfan patients have dislocated lenses.
About 90% of Marfan patients will develop cardiac complications.
The weak dura in Marfan patients swells or bulges under the pressure of the spinal fluid. This swelling is called ectasia.
Smoking is particularly harmful for Marfan patients because it increases their risk of emphysema.
A few patients with Marfan may have a pectus excavatum on one side of their chest and a pectus carinatum on the other.