The outer choroidoscleral boundary in full-thickness macular holes before and after surgery—a swept-source OCT study

• DOI: 10.1007/s00417-015-2937-y
• Publication Date: 2015-02-04T06:27:34Z
• Authors: Zofia Michalewska; Janusz Michalewski; Zofia Nawrocka; Karolina Dulczews...; Jerzy Nawrocki
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Choroid; Middle Aged; Retinal Perforations; 03 medical and health sciences; Case-Control Studies; Vitrectomy; Humans; Female; Sclera; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Aged

To report on choroidal thickness and the morphology of the outer choroidoscleral boundary in swept-source OCT in patients with full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) before and after surgery.Single center matched case-control study of 32 patients with FTMH (group 1), fellow eyes (group 2), and 32 eyes of 32 healthy controls (group 3). All eyes from group 1 had vitrectomy with a minimum follow-up of 3 months. Main outcome measures were the visibility and regularity of the outer choroidoscleral boundary (CSB), and additionally the eventual visibility of the suprachoroidal layer (SCL).Choroidal thickness was indifferent between groups. Choroidal thickness did not change after surgery (p = 0.1). CSB was visible in all cases. CSB was irregular in 59 % of eyes in group 1, in 40 % of eyes in group 2, and in any eye in group 3. SCL was visible in 34 % of eyes in group 1, and remained visible after surgery. In group 2, SCL was observed in 44 % of eyes, and in group 3 in one eye.Choroidal thickness does not differ between eyes with FTMH and their fellow eyes and healthy controls. CSB is more often irregular and SCL is more often visible in eyes with FTMH and their fellow eyes than in healthy controls. In fellow eyes of FTMH, the visibility of SCL was observed more often in eyes with partial vitreous detachment (p = 0.0). Three months after surgery, choroidal thickness does not change, the irregularities of CSB and SCL remain visible. More frequent changes of the outer choroidoscleral boundary in FTMH, and especially in their fellow eyes, may suggest a role of the choroid in the pathogenesis of FTMH.