Retinal and Vitreous Changes Associated with Spontaneous Improvement in Myopic Macular Schisis.

Purpose: To describe the retinal and vitreous changes in eyes showing myopic macular schisis (MMS) improvement when vitrectomy was not performed and identify triggering factors.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Subjects: Patients with nonoperated MMS.

Methods: The records of patients with MMS who were followed without performing surgery for >6 months were retrospectively reviewed, and the eyes showing an anatomic improvement were included. Myopic macular schisis evolution was analyzed quantitatively (central foveal thickness [CFT], parafoveal thickness, maximum height) and qualitatively (presence/absence of foveal detachment, lamellar hole, epiretinal membrane, choroidal neovascularization, inner and outer retinoschisis, vitreous status) at baseline and at the final visit. An anatomic improvement was defined as a decrease in CFT by ≥50 μm.

Main outcome measures: The rate of anatomic improvement of MMS without performing vitrectomy and the morphological changes observed in these cases.

Results: In a cohort of 74 nonoperated eyes with MMS, MMS improved in 14 eyes (19%) after a mean follow-up of 55 ± 38 months (range, 8-138). In these improved cases, the mean decrease in CFT was 153 ± 166 μm (range, 24-635; P = 0.005) and a complete resolution of MMS was observed in 9 eyes (64%). In 9 eyes (64%), the improvement was associated with visible vitreous changes in the macular area on the OCT scans. The mean visual acuity, which was already good at baseline (20/50, 0.4 ± 0.2 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution), increased at the last visit (20/40, 0.3 ± 0.3 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) but without reaching significance.

Conclusions: This long-term follow-up analysis showed that almost 20% of MMS in eyes without indication for surgery could improve over time. In most cases, the improvement was associated with an apparent resolution of vitreous tensions.

Financial disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.