MICROHOLES OF THE MACULA

Objective: To describe the clinical syndrome of microholes of the macu la. Patients: Fourteen patients with acute symptoms caused by full-thi ckness microholes of the macula. Results: Patients with macular microh oles had the acute onset of a central scotoma with mild to moderate vi sual acuity loss. Examination revealed a detachment of the vitreous ov er the fovea, often with an operculum or a total posterior vitreous de tachment, and a sharply demarcated, 50- to 133-mu m round hole in the center of the macula. On follow-up, all patients had a stable or impro ved scotoma and visual acuity. Conclusions: Macular microholes appear to be caused by an acute detachment of the vitreous from the fovea and can be distinguished from Gass stage 2 idiopathic macular holes.