Foveal Thickness in Healthy Fellow Eyes of Patients With Unilateral Macular Holes

Abstract

To compare the morphologic parameters of ophthalmoscopically and tomographically normal foveae of the fellow eyes of patients with a unilateral macular hole (MH), other unilateral retinal diseases, and healthy eyes. Observational, cross-sectional study. Of the 849 subjects studied, 183 eyes were excluded because they had an abnormal vitreofoveal interface that might have affected the foveal thickness. The average regional retinal thicknesses of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study sectors determined byspectral-domain optical coherence tomography were compared among 160 patients with MH, 175 patients with epiretinal membrane, 145 patients with retinal vein occlusion, and 186 healthy subjects. The foveal depression was quantified as the foveal pit depth divided by the foveal pit diameter. The fovea (1mm) and central fovea were significantly thinner in the MH group (243 and 192μm) than in the other groups (P < .0001). There were no significant differences in the thickness of the fovea and central fovea among the eyes with epiretinal membrane (254 and 203μm) or retinal vein occlusion (251 and 202μm) or in the healthy group (254 and 201μm). The foveal depression was significantly greater in the MH group (0.063) than in the retinal vein occlusion group (0.059) or in the healthy group (0.058; P= .014 and P= .0014, respectively). Multiple regression analyses showed that a thinner fovea and a deeper foveal depression were associated significantly with the presence of MH (P= .0054 to P < .0001). These results suggest that patients with MH have unique foveal morphologic features that predispose them to MH development.