Case Report: Spontaneous Closure of Idiopathic Full-thickness Macular Hole and Early Development of Lamellar Hole

SIGNIFICANCESpontaneous closure of an idiopathic full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) is a rare event. The underlying mechanisms are unclear because of the difficulty in detecting subtle structural changes even with serial imaging. Previous reports are largely optical coherence tomography (OCT) based, but multimodal imaging could highlight new information.PURPOSEThis study aimed to report the spontaneous closure of an idiopathic FTMH (iFTMH) and its recurrence and late closure documented by serial OCT integrated with multimodal imaging modalities and microperimetry (MP).CASE REPORTA healthy 46-year-old man was referred to the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Padova for an iFTMH in the right eye with preserved visual acuity. The patient was scheduled for monthly controls up to 12 months by an integrated assessment of OCT, angiography-OCT, short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence, and MP. Two months later, tracked OCT scans showed a closure of the hole with a residual lamellar macular hole. Sequential examinations revealed a discontinuation of photoreceptors (ellipsoid zone) and a recurrence of iFTMH, and 7 months later, iFTMH reclosed without any relevant changes up to 12 months. Foveal avascular zone area increased from the baseline reaching its maximum value when iFTMH recurred. Two hyper-fundus autofluorescence points were detected in the foveal area, one progressively decreased and one reached the most intense signal when iFTMH recurred. Retinal sensitivity decreased mostly in one hyper-fundus autofluorescence point when the ellipsoid zone line discontinued and reached the lowest value when iFTMH recurred, and increased mostly in the other points when iFTMH reclosed.CONCLUSIONSSpontaneous iFTMH closure, as well as its recurrence and reclosure, is a rare event. By monitoring with multiple imaging modalities, MP and their overlaying elaboration can add new biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value.