Spontaneous closure of a myopic macular hole with retinal reattachment in an eye with high myopia and staphyloma: a case report

BACKGROUND: Macular hole related retinal detachment is a common entity with poor surgical prognosis in highly myopic eyes. We describe the first case of spontaneous closure of a macular hole with complete retinal reattachment in a highly myopic eye with posterior staphyloma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 64-year-old Chinese woman with high myopia was diagnosed as having a macular hole-related retinal detachment with vitreo-retinal traction in her right eye by optical coherence tomography. Thirty-three months later, the macular hole closed, with formation of a lamellar hole and decreased retinal detachment. Twelve months later, retinal reattachment was found to have occurred, accompanied by the development of macular retinoschisis. Fifty-four months after initial examination, the retina remained attached with a lamellar hole and retinoschisis in the macular area. The vitreo-retinal traction persisted during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: As evidenced by the current case, in highly myopic eyes, the vitreoretinal traction force, which contributes to a macular hole and retinal detachment, could be partially released by the development of a lamellar hole or foveal schisis. This reduction of traction might contribute to retinal reattachment.