Vitreomacular interface and outer foveal microstructure in fellow eyes of patients with unilateral macular holes.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between the vitreomacular interface and the integrity of the photoreceptor microstructures in the normal fellow eyes of patients with unilateral macular holes.

METHODS

Retrospective observational case series. Fifty-five normal fellow eyes of 55 patients with unilateral macular holes were enrolled in the study. All patients underwent complete ophthalmologic examination including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fundus photography, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography at initial and follow-up visits. The features of the vitreomacular interface were graded based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography findings.

RESULTS

At the initial visit, 28 of 55 eyes (51%) had vitreomacular attachments with or without perifoveal posterior vitreous detachment. On their initial visit, a triangular elevation of the cone outer segment tips line was identified in 11 of 18 eyes (61%) with perifoveal posterior vitreous detachment across all quadrants with persistent attachment to the fovea. Conversely, none of the remaining 37 eyes with the other stages of posterior vitreous detachment showed any abnormalities. Over a mean follow-up period of 18 months (range, 12-24 months), the elevation of the cone outer segment tips line resolved after spontaneous vitreomacular separation without macular holes in 3 eyes, remained unchanged in 6 eyes, and showed progression to a full-thickness macular hole in 2 eyes.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that an elevation of the cone outer segment tips line in the normal fellow eyes of patients with macular holes is caused by the focal traction of the vitreous at the foveal center. This is considered to be an important primary change observed in the macular tissue in full-thickness macular hole formation.