Spontaneous closure of lamellar macular holes studied by optical coherence tomography

Abstract

To document and study the spontaneous closure of lamellar macular holes (LMH) by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Two women with LMH, 62 and 71 years old, respectively, were followed up with fundoscopy, fundus photography and OCT. In both patients spontaneous closure of LMH was observed 11 and 21 months after baseline examination, respectively. The foveal thickness in case 1 increased from 84 μm at baseline to 162 μm at the final examination. The foveal thickness in case 2 increased from 48 μm at baseline to 148 μm at the final examination. The foveal contour was also restored in both eyes. The foveal morphology was preserved in both eyes during the follow-up period. In both patients the spontaneous closure of LMH could be attributed to the shrinkage of the hole or the release of the tension on the retinal surface, which followed the complete posterior vitreous detachment and separation of epiretinal membrane from the retina.