Incidence of Macular Holes in the Fellow Eye without Vitreomacular Detachment at Baseline.

PURPOSE: To determine the rate of macular holes (MH) occurring in the fellow eyes of eyes with MH depending on the vitreomacular interface at baseline.

METHODS

This was a retrospective study of patients operated on for idiopathic MH, with persistent vitreofoveal attachment in the fellow eye assessed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Follow-up lasted 6 months or more, and the main outcome was the occurrence of an MH.

RESULTS

The 77 fellow eyes included had a mean follow-up of 34.11 ± 22.3 months (6-78.4). At baseline, 31 eyes had vitreomacular traction (VMT), 35 vitreomacular adhesion, and 11 no posterior vitreous detachment. MH occurred in 19.5% of the cases (15/77). The rate of MH was significantly higher among the eyes with VMT than among the eyes without VMT at baseline (35.5 vs. 8.7%; p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION

One-third of eyes with VMT at baseline identified by SD-OCT will develop an MH in the following 5 years.