Purpose: We used optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the staging of macu
lar holes and compared our results with clinical and intraoperative finding
s.
Patients: Between 1 January 1997 and 15 October 1998, 80 patients underwent
vitrectomy for idiopathic macular holes. In 36 cases we could record an OC
T preoperatively and in 24 cases also postoperatively. OCT measurements wer
e analyzed in a blind fashion independent of the clinical pre- and intraope
rative findings.
Results: Preoperative OCT staging was in agreement with the intraoperative
findings in 24 of 36 cases. However, in 8 cases, the macular hole was judge
d as stage 3 intraoperatively, while OCT revealed a stage 4 hole. Postopera
tively, OCT results were consistent with the clinical findings in all 24 ca
ses.
Conclusion: OCT scans are a valuable adjunct for the pre- and postoperative
analysis of idiopathic macular holes. As the posterior hyaloid surface can
not always be reliably identified in OCT, discrimination between stage 3 an
d 4 is difficult.