Observations on patients with idiopathic macular holes and cysts

We reexamined 96 patients with macular holes or cysts. The mean follow-up period was 4.7 years. Of 19 eyes with macular cysts, only two (10.5%) showed progression to a macular hole. In 15 (79%) of those 19 eyes, the cyst disappeared. Of 80 patients with a macular hole or cyst in one eye and a normal fellow eye, a hole developed in the fellow eye in only one patient (1.2%) and a cyst developed in the fellow eye in only two patients (2.5%). Of 66 eyes with a stage 3 full-thickness macular hole, three eyes (5%) showed resolution without any sign of a hole. Our results suggest a favorable prognosis for normal fellow eyes of patients with macular holes or cysts and for eyes with cysts. Eyes with full-thickness macular holes have a less favorable prognosis, although their natural history may not be as poor as previously thought.