Intraocular gas treatment for myopic foveoschisis

Abstract

PURPOSE. To report a case of symptomatic myopic retinoschisis with foveolar detachment and lamellar macular hole, treated with expansible gas. METHODS. Interventional case report. A myopic patient presented with a history of decreased vision and metamorphopsia in his right eye. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed an increased macular thickness, thinning and separation of the inner and external retina (retinoschisis or foveoschisis), foveolar detachment, lamellar hole, and foveolar vitreous traction. We treated the patient with a single dose of 0.2 mL of perfluoroethane (C(2)F(6)), performed under retrobulbar anesthesia, followed by prone posturing for 15 days. RESULTS. OCT showed reattachment of the foveolar retina, disappearance of the retinoschisis, and visual acuity improvement. CONCLUSIONS. Intraocular expansible gas and prone posturing, without vitrectomy, could be an alternative treatment in selected cases of symptomatic macular foveoschisis with foveolar detachment, in the absence of dense epiretinal membranes. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2010; 20: 473-5)