Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Author Spotlight: Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
FULL-THICKNESS MACULAR HOLE COMBINED WITH PIGMENT EPITHELIAL DETACHMENT USING MULTIMODAL IMAGING
Maiko Inoue1, Anna Tan, Jason S Slakter
1*Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York, New York, New York; †The LuEsther T. Mertz Retinal Research Center, Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, New York, New York; ‡Department of Ophthalmology, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan; §Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore, Singapore; and ¶Department of Ophthalmology, Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.
Purpose:
To describe two patients who showed full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) combined with pigment epithelial detachments (PED) and had contrasting outcomes to treatment.
Methods:
A retrospective report of two cases.
Results:
Case 1 was treated with intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor and photodynamic therapy, and the PED flattened. Subsequently, a vitrectomy was performed and the FTMH closed. Her visual acuity improved from 20/200 to 20/25. In Case 2, the same medical therapy, with less frequency compared with Case 1, did not affect the PED, and the FTMH failed to close with surgery. Later, a spontaneous collapse of the PED occurred but the FTMH was persistent with an associated poor visual acuity of 20/200.
Conclusion:
Full-thickness macular hole is rare, but can occur in association with large PEDs. Although the pathologic mechanism was uncertain, visual outcomes were dependent on response to treatments of the PED, as well as anatomical closure of the FTMH.
