Dome-shaped macula in children and adolescents

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of dome-shaped macula (DSM) in children and adolescents with myopia. METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records was performed to identify subjects who were younger than 19 years with myopia of −3.0 diopters or greater. The results of optical coherence tomography images were analyzed to identify DSM. The height and diameter of the dome were measured. Age, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and refractive error of study participants who exhibited DSM were compared with those of patients who did not. RESULTS: Among the 1,042 eyes of 615 patients, eight eyes (0.77%) of seven patients had DSM. Six of these eight eyes were not highly myopic (i.e., less than −6.0 diopters of spherical equivalents). Additionally, the mean height and diameter of the identified domes were 146.50 ± 42.33 μm and 4779.75 ± 699.38 μm, respectively. Patients with DSM were significantly older (mean age: 15.88 ± 2.36 years) than patients without it (11.51 ± 4.60 years; p = 0.007). The youngest affected patient was 11 years old. There was no significant difference in refractive errors (p = 0.629) or BCVA (p = 0.314) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although the incidence in this study was very low, DSM was found even in children and adolescents. In addition, 75% of affected individuals were not highly myopic. These results suggest that inherent traits may be involved in development of DSM.