The pathogenesis of macular pucker and macular holes is poorly understood. Anomalous posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and vitreoschisis have been proposed as possible mechanisms. This study used clinical imaging to seek vitreoschisis and study the topographic features of macular pucker and macular holes.

Combined optical coherence tomography and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (OCT/SLO) was performed in 45 eyes with macular hole and 44 eyes with macular pucker. Longitudinal imaging was used to identify vitreoschisis and measure retinal thickness. The topographic features of eyes with macular hole with eccentric macular contraction were compared to 24 eyes with unifocal macular pucker using coronal plane imaging.

Vitreoschisis was detected in 24 of 45 eyes (53.3%) with macular hole and 19 of 44 (43.2%) with macular pucker. Retinal contraction was detected eccentrically in the macula of 18 of 45 eyes (40%) with macular hole. In eyes with macular hole with unifocal retinal contraction, the average surface area of contraction (23.12 ± 18.79 mm²) was significantly smaller than in eyes with macular pucker (63.20 ± 23.68 mm²; P = .006). The distance from the center of retinal contraction to the center of the macula was significantly greater in eyes with macular hole (8.64 ± 2.33 mm) than eyes with macular pucker (4.45 ± 1.90 mm; P = .0001).

Vitreoschisis was detected in about half of all eyes with macular hole and macular pucker. The topographic and structural features in eyes with macular hole with retinal contraction differed in comparison to eyes with macular pucker alone, suggesting that although each condition may begin with anomalous PVD, differences in subsequent cell migration and proliferation probably result in the different clinical appearances detected in this study.