Stéphane Bulle, doctor for the French Ski Federation, announced this Saturday January 4 that Haut-Alpine Cyprien Sarrazin suffered from “diplopia” after his heavy fall in Bormio during training on December 27. But what is this disorder that affects vision?
“He suffers from diplopia. » It is with these words that Stéphane Bulle, the doctor of the French Ski Federation, described this Saturday January 4 the disorder suffered by Cyprien Sarrazin, who returned to France and who “is doing well” according to Dr. Bulle, following his big fall in Bormio (Italy) during training on December 27.
Diplopia is a “vision disorder that causes objects to be seen twice” if we refer to the definition in the Larousse dictionary. The Barcelona Ophthalmological Center specifies that this “visual alteration can be horizontal, diagonal or oblique” and that it can be monocular or binocular. In other words, it affects one eye or both eyes.
The difference between the two is that binocular diplopia stops when the affected patient closes their eyes while monocular diplopia persists when one eye is alternately closed. In the case of Cyprien Sarrazin, we can, a priori, think that it is a case of binocular diplopia when we read the words of Stéphane Bulle who mentions that the “two eyes” of the Haut-Alpin “are no longer all completely coordinated.”
How will his eyesight be returned to normal?
And that neurological alterations, in the central nervous system or at the level of the neuromuscular plate cause binocular diplopia. That of Cyprien Sarrazin must have been caused by the pressure of the hematoma in his skull.
Already operated on to reduce his hematoma, the double winner of Kitzbühel last year should not be operated on to restore his vision. In cases of diplopia, doctors generally favor an approach using prisms, lenses applied to glasses, which help to move the image produced by double vision. If the prism method does not work, because the pathology is too severe or Cyprien Sarrazin is not receptive to the prism method, an operation may be considered.
The high-alpine skier, accompanied by Stéphane Bulle and neurosurgeons, will be able to “attack rehabilitation”. “We are going to start allowing him to do the things that everyone does: sit on the edge of a bed, eat properly, stand up…” added the doctor from the French Ski Federation.
An assessment “concerning cognitive problems” will also be carried out according to Dr. Bulle. This will make it possible to evaluate Cyprien Sarrazin’s progress and the evolution of his diplopia. This is, perhaps, when an eye operation could be scheduled.
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