The Case Mix of Patients Presenting with Full-Thickness Macular Holes and Progression before Surgery: Implications for Optimum Management.

Aims: Analysis of pre-operative spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) characteristics of full-thickness macular holes (FTMH) and effect on optimum management.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed SD-OCT characteristics of a consecutive cohort of patients waitlisted for FTMH surgery and categorized them by current evidence-based treatments.

Results: Out of the 106 holes analysed, 36 were small, 40 medium and 30 large. Initially, 33 holes had vitreomacular adhesion (VMA). 41 holes were analysed for change in characteristics with a median duration of 8 weeks between the scans. The number of small or medium holes decreased from 20 to 6 and that of large holes doubled. The number of holes with VMA halved. Smaller hole size (p = 0.014) and being phakic (p = 0.048) were associated with a larger increase in size. The strongest predictor of hole progression into a different surgical management category was the presence of VMA.

Conclusion: FTMH characteristics can change significantly pre-operatively and affect optimal treatment choice.