Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
In vivo Structural Assessments of Ocular Disease in Rodent Models using Optical Coherence Tomography
Published on: July 24, 2020
Car accident leading to "traumatic" macular hole formation proven by optical coherence tomography
Gábor Márk Somfai1, György Salacz
1Department of Ophthalmology (Mária Street), Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Mária Str. 39., 1085 Budapest, Hungary. somfaigm@yahoo.com
Background:
We present the case of a car accident where the cause-consequence of the subsequent visual loss in one eye of the victim was proven by optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods:
A 66-year-old woman was hit by a car from her right side and complained of immediate visual loss after the accident in her right eye. The patient was referred to our outpatient clinic 2.5 months after the car accident in order to elucidate the cause-consequence of the visual loss and the car accident. Following routine ophthalmologic examination OCT was performed in both eyes.
Results:
Fundus biomicroscopy revealed a full thickness macular hole in the affected eye which was proven by OCT, while OCT showed an arrested stage of macular hole development in the unaffected left eye. Pars plana vitrectomy was performed resulting in closure of the hole.
Conclusions:
The arrested stage of macular hole formation seen by OCT in the fellow eye lead us to the conclusion that the accident could have been the trigger in the pathologic changes of the retina in the affected eye. The authors review the current literature related to head injury and macular hole formation.
