Vitrectomy in full thickness macular holes on top of a pigment epithelial detachment in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Surgical consideration and review of the literature

Comparison of retinal vascular arcade trajectory between eyes with an idiopathic macular hole and the healthy fellow eye

PURPOSE

We aimed to present a method to evaluate the retinal arcade vascular trajectory by measuring the distance between the retinal veins in eyes with idiopathic macular hole (IMH) and comparing this measurement with healthy fellow eyes.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study 18 patients with unilateral IMH were enrolled. We used standard fundus photographs, which were obtained from each eye with a digital fundus camera using a 55-degree lens. The calculation of the retinal arcade vascular trajectories was done by drawing and measuring five vertical lines within the macular area.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 65 ± 9 years. The between-groups differences of each vertical line were not statistically significant, except for the differences between the most temporal line, which was greater in the diseased group (9388 vs. 8322 μm; P = 0.034). The ratio between the fifth (most temporal) and the third (fovea-center) vertical lines was greater than 1 (V-shape) in 72% of eyes with a macular hole, whereas it was less than one (U-shape) in 78% of control eyes (P = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that in eyes with an IMH the vascular arcade has more tendency to diverge on its path temporal to the fovea.