Vitreomacular traction syndrome with an outer macular hole

To describe a patient with a large idiopathic partial-thickness macular hole involving the outer layers of the retina.

We performed complete ophthalmologic examination, including fluorescein angiography, B-scan ultrasonography, and optical coherence tomography, on an 81-year-old woman who was referred to our department with the clinical suspicion of a stage 3 full-thickness macular hole in the left eye.

After complete ophthalmologic examination, the patient was diagnosed with vitreomacular traction syndrome due to a prefoveal partial posterior vitreous detachment causing tangential outward traction on the fovea. In this case, vitreomacular traction was associated with macular detachment and was complicated by retinoschisis and an idiopathic partial-thickness macular hole, in the absence of either high myopia or an optic nerve pit.

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a large idiopathic partial-thickness macular hole sharing common features with macular schisis, in the absence of either high myopia or an optic disk pit.