Observation of Recovery of Foveal Cone Microstructures After Macular Hole Surgery

Correlation Between Visual Acuity and Recovery of Foveal Cone Microstructures After Macular Hole Surgery

The objective is to determine whether a recovery of the microstructures of the foveal photoreceptors after macular hole (MH) closure is correlated with the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) is determined.

Macular hole patients were evaluated by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to determine the integrity of the microstructures of the foveal photoreceptors. The inner segment/outer segment (IS/OS) junction, the external limiting membrane (ELM), and the cone outer segment tips (COST) line were determined preoperatively, and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the MH surgery. The correlation between the integrity of the foveal photoreceptor microstructures and the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was determined.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The patients had undergone surgery from March 2008 to August 2009 at Kyorin Eye Center
• Idiopathic macular hole patients with either a Stage 2, 3, or 4 according to the Gass classification

Exclusion Criteria:

• The presence of other retinal diseases including a treated rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy
• High myopia with an axial length > 27.0 mm or refractive error > -8.0 diopters
• The patients followed for less than 6 months postoperatively