[Macular hole. Survey and relevant surgical concepts]

The theory of macular hole pathogenesis, which had so far been based on biomicroscopy, has been considerably altered by optical coherence tomography. The precise presentation of vitreofoveal pathology shows that forces acting in different directions are associated with different stages of the disease, making surgical treatment adapted to the different stages possible. Some surgical procedures are still controversial, and there is still no gold standard in macular hole surgery. Especially no agreement exists on the benefit of internal limiting membrane peeling, possibly assisted by staining with indocyanine green. Also details of endotamponade and postoperative positioning are controversial. Therefore, the method of surgical treatment depends a lot on the individual surgeon. This review summarizes the broad spectrum of the literature and the present knowledge in this field.