3-D SD-OCT helps detect pathologies prior to vitrectomy for myopic foveoschisis

The authors investigated the sensitivity of multiple scan modes of spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) in detecting pathologies that accompany myopic foveoschisis (MF), a complication of highly myopic eyes. The condition's pathogenesis is believed to be related to posterior staphyloma progression, epiretinal membrane presence, internal limiting membrane rigidity and additional factors. The visual outcome of MF treatment with vitrectomy depends on factors related to these pathologies, making precise preoperative evaluation of the posterior retina and confirmation of the absence or presence of macular hole important.

The authors imaged 21 eyes (18 patients) diagnosed with MF. They found that the three-dimensional scanning mode of the SD-OCT tended to be superior to both the one-line and five-line raster scanning modes for detecting inner and outer segments, epiretinal membrane, macular hole, paravascular microhole, and internal limiting membrane. The three-dimensional mode had a significantly higher detection rate (71%) of retinal vascular microfolds than both the 1-line (19%, P _ 0.01) and 5-line raster scanning modes (33%, P _ 0.05).