Spontaneous closure of degenerative lamellar macular hole with epiretinal membrane proliferation

Abstract

Background: To describe the spontaneous closure of a degenerative lamellar macular hole with epiretinal proliferation (LHEP) as documented with tracked spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Case presentation: A 54-years-old diabetic female patient presented with progressive vision loss in the left eye. SD-OCT illustrated LHEP associated with cystic fluid in the outer nuclear layer. Sequentially tracked SD-OCT showed progressive closure of the degenerative lamellar macular hole and resolution of the CME over almost 4 years, in the absence of any surgical intervention. Discussion/conclusion: LHEP may represent a specialized form of degenerative epiretinal membrane associated with Muller cell activation. Spontaneous degenerative LMH closure may rarely occur with these lesion types, in the absence of surgical intervention, possibly due to Muller cell proliferation preceded by PVD.