Spontaneous Release of Vitreomacular Traction

This 63-year-old female complained of gradual decrease in vision and flashes of light right eye worse than left eye. Her visual acuity was 20/125 OD and 20/25 OS. On her initial visit the patientÕs exam showed a normal slit lamp exam with mild cataracts in both eyes. The fundus exam showed a macular hole in the right eye (not shown) and vitreomacular traction in the left eye. The OCT image of the left eye showed traction (initial visit panel, yellow arrows) with subfoveal fluid (red arrow). On the second visit note the traction was released (Second Visit, green arrow), with residual subfovea fluid. (Second Visit, red arrow). The third visit shows a complete release of traction with a smaller amount of subfoveal fluid. Her visual acuity remained 20/25. The patient also underwent surgery to repair the macula hole in the right eye. She was stable and asked to return in 6 months for follow up. Spontaneous release of vitreomacular traction is common with approximately one third of cases expected to have this occur. For this reason, a period of watchful waiting is advisable in most cases.