Natural course of macular retinoschisis in highly myopic eyes without macular hole or retinal detachment

Purpose To investigate the natural course of macular retinoschisis in highly myopic patients. Design A prospective, observational case series. Methods Seven consecutive patients (eight eyes) with macular retinoschisis without macular hole or retinal detachment determined by optical coherence tomography (OCT) were followed at least two years without surgical intervention. The changes in the OCT findings and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were analyzed. Results During follow-up, two eyes that had vitreoretinal adhesions developed a macular hole, one with and one without retinal detachment (RD), and two eyes without detectable vitreoretinal adhesion developed RD without a macular hole. BCVA in these four eyes was significantly reduced. The remaining four eyes did not develop complications, although the thickness of the macula increased significantly. Conclusions These findings suggest that macular retinoschisis might be a progressive condition, and that complications appeared to be related to the presence of vitreoretinal tractions.