title: Oval defect in detached posterior hyaloid membrane in idiopathic preretinal macular fibrosis.
abstract: We examined the vitreous of 71 eyes with idiopathic preretinal macular fibrosis and observed complete posterior vitreous detachment in 48 eyes (68%), partial posterior vitreous detachment in 16 eyes (22%), and no posterior vitreous detachment in seven eyes (10%). Among the 48 eyes with posterior vitreous detachment, we observed that the detached posterior hyaloid membrane had an oval or round defect in 31 eyes (65%) and a break in the premacular area in 12 eyes (25%). The size and the contour of the premacular defects in the posterior hyaloid membrane corresponded to those characteristic of premacular fibrosis. A premacular oval defect in the detached posterior hyaloid membrane indicates that the vitreous cortex is a structural component of idiopathic premacular fibrosis. We postulate that the thin, premacular vitreous cortex, which forms the posterior wall of the premacular liquefied pocket, plays a key role in the development of idiopathic preretinal macular fibrosis in eyes with or without posterior vitreous detachment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Gunma University, School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000473:pathology*