Macular Hole Formation in Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment after Scleral Buckling

PURPOSE: To describe early macular hole (MH) development in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) after scleral buckling (SB) based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings. METHODS: The medical records and spectral domain OCT images of patients in whom MH developed after RRD repair were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: A postoperative MH was detected in five eyes that underwent SB during a 6-year period. All had fovea-off RRD without MH at the time of surgery. OCT showed partial loss of the inner retina with a preserved photoreceptor layer in early postoperative days. On average, 7 days (range,5 to 8 days) after surgery, outer retinal tissues disappeared, resulting in the full-thickness MH. CONCLUSIONS: Serial OCT findings revealed that partial-thickness lamellar holes progressed to full-thickness MHs, which were formed by the degeneration of the outer retina in eyes with preceding loss of the glial cone in the fovea.