Abstract
To review the literature on epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostic imaging, natural history, management, therapeutic approaches, and prognosis of myopic foveoschisis. A systematic Pubmed search was conducted using search terms: myopia, myopic, staphyloma, foveoschisis, and myopic foveoschisis. The evidence base for each section was organised and reviewed. Where possible an authors’ interpretation or conclusion is provided for each section. The term myopic foveoschisis was first coined in 1999. It is associated with posterior staphyloma in high myopia, and is often asymptomatic initially but progresses slowly, leading to loss of central vision from foveal detachment or macular hole formation. Optical coherence tomography is used to diagnose the splitting of the neural retina into a thicker inner layer and a thinner outer layer, but compound variants of the splits have been identified. Vitrectomy with an internal limiting membrane peel and gas tamponade is the preferred approach for eyes with vision decline. There has been a surge of new information on myopic foveoschisis. Advances in optical coherence tomography will continually improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of retinal splitting, and the mechanisms that lead to macular damage and visual loss. Currently, there is a good level of consensus that surgical intervention should be considered when there is progressive visual decline from myopic foveoschisis.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
References
Benhamou N, Massin P, Haouchine B, Erginay A, Gaudric A . Macular retinoschisis in highly myopic eyes. Am J Ophthalmol 2002; 133 (6): 794–800.
Ikuno Y, Gomi F, Tano Y . Potent retinal arteriolar traction as a possible cause of myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2005; 139 (3): 462–467.
Philips CI . Retinal detachment at the posterior pole. Br J Ophthalmol 1958; 42 (12): 749–753.
Ikuno Y, Sayanagi K, Soga K, Oshima Y, Ohji M, Tano Y . Foveal anatomical status and surgical results in vitrectomy for myopic foveoschisis. Jpn J Ophthalmol 2008; 52 (4): 269–276.
Yin G, Wang YX, Zheng ZY, Yang H, Xu L, Jonas JB et al. Ocular axial length and its associations in Chinese: the Beijing Eye Study. PLoS One 2012; 7 (8): e43172.
Nangia V, Jonas JB, Sinha A, Matin A, Kulkarni M, Panda-Jonas S . Ocular axial length and its associations in an adult population of central rural India: the Central India Eye and Medical Study. Ophthalmology 2010; 117 (7): 1360–1366.
Gao LQ, Liu W, Liang YB, Zhang F, Wang JJ, Peng Y et al. Prevalence and characteristics of myopic retinopathy in a rural Chinese adult population: the Handan Eye Study. Arch Ophthalmol 2011; 129 (9): 1199–1204.
Liu HH, Xu L, Wang YX, Wang S, You QS, Jonas JB . Prevalence and progression of myopic retinopathy in Chinese adults: the Beijing Eye Study. Ophthalmology 2010; 117 (9): 1763–1768.
Vongphanit J, Mitchell P, Wang JJ . Prevalence and progression of myopic retinopathy in an older population. Ophthalmology 2002; 109 (4): 704–711.
Takano M, Kishi S . Foveal retinoschisis and retinal detachment in severely myopic eyes with posterior staphyloma. Am J Ophthalmol 1999; 128 (4): 472–476.
Baba T, Ohno-Matsui K, Futagami S, Yoshida T, Yasuzumi K, Kojima A et al. Prevalence and characteristics of foveal retinal detachment without macular hole in high myopia. Am J Ophthalmol 2003; 135 (3): 338–342.
Lin LL, Shih YF, Tsai CB, Chen CJ, Lee LA, Hung PT et al. Epidemiologic study of ocular refraction among schoolchildren in Taiwan in 1995. Optom Vis Sci 1999; 76 (5): 275–281.
Panozzo G, Mercanti A . Optical coherence tomography findings in myopic traction maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol 2004; 122 (10): 1455–1460.
Tang J, Rivers MB, Moshfeghi AA, Flynn HW, Chan CC . Pathology of macular foveoschisis associated with degenerative myopia. J Ophthalmol 2010; 2010: 175613.
Henaine-Berra A, Zand-Hadas IM, Fromow-Guerra J, García-Aguirre G . Prevalence of macular anatomic abnormalities in high myopia. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2013; 44 (2): 140–144.
Gaucher D, Haouchine B, Tadayoni R, Massin P, Erginay A, Benhamou N et al. Long-term follow-up of high myopic foveoschisis: natural course and surgical outcome. Am J Ophthalmol 2007; 143 (3): 455–462.
Fang X, Weng Y, Xu S, Chen Z, Liu J, Chen B et al. Optical coherence tomographic characteristics and surgical outcome of eyes with myopic foveoschisis. Eye (Lond) 2009; 23 (6): 1336–1342.
Sayanagi K, Morimoto Y, Ikuno Y, Tano Y . Spectral-domain optical coherence tomographic findings in myopic foveoschisis. Retina 2010; 30 (4): 623–628.
Wu Q, Li SW, Lu B, Wang WQ, Fang J, Yu JY et al. Clinical observation of highly myopic eyes with retinoschisis after phacoemulsification. Zhonghua Yan Ke Za Zhi 2011; 47 (4): 303–309.
Wang S, Peng Q, Zhao P . SD-OCT use in myopic retinoschisis pre- and post-vitrectomy. Optom Vis Sci 2012; 89 (5): 678–683.
Shimada N, Ohno-Matsui K, Baba T, Futagami S, Tokoro T, Mochizuki M . Natural course of macular retinoschisis in highly myopic eyes without macular hole or retinal detachment. Am J Ophthalmol 2006; 142 (3): 497–500.
Sayanagi K, Ikuno Y, Soga K, Tano Y . Photoreceptor inner and outer segment defects in myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2008; 145 (5): 902–908.
Lim LS, Cheung G, Lee SY. . Comparison of spectral domain and swept-source optical coherence tomography in pathological myopia. Eye (Lond) 2014; 28 (4): 488–491.
Itakura H, Kishi S, Li D, Nitta K, Akiyama H . Vitreous changes in high myopia observed by swept-source optical coherence tomography. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2014; 55 (3): 1447–1452.
Wu PC, Chen YJ, Chen YH, Chen CH, Shin SJ, Tsai CL et al. Factors associated with foveoschisis and foveal detachment without macular hole in high myopia. Eye (Lond) 2009; 23 (2): 356–361.
Sayanagi K, Ikuno Y, Gomi F, Tano Y . Retinal vascular microfolds in highly myopic eyes. Am J Ophthalmol 2005; 139 (4): 658–663.
Bando H, Ikuno Y, Choi JS, Tano Y, Yamanaka I, Ishibashi T . Ultrastructure of internal limiting membrane in myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2005; 139 (1): 197–199.
Sebag J . Anomalous posterior vitreous detachment: a unifying concept in vitreo-retinal disease. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2004; 242 (8): 690–698.
Alkabes M, Pichi F, Nucci P, Massaro D, Dutra Medeiros M, Corcostegui B et al. Anatomical and visual outcomes in high myopic macular hole (HM-MH) without retinal detachment: a review. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2014; 252 (2): 191–199.
Kuriyama S, Matsumura M, Harada T, Ishigooka H, Ogino N . Surgical techniques and reattachment rates in retinal detachment due to macular hole. Arch Ophthalmol 1990; 108 (11): 1559–1561.
Ikuno Y, Sayanagi K, Ohji M, Kamei M, Gomi F, Harino S et al. Vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling for myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2004; 137 (4): 719–724.
Kobayashi H, Kishi S . Vitreous surgery for highly myopic eyes with foveal detachment and retinoschisis. Ophthalmology 2003; 110 (9): 1702–1707.
Kwok AK, Lai TY, Yip WW . Vitrectomy and gas tamponade without internal limiting membrane peeling for myopic foveoschisis. Br J Ophthalmol 2005; 89 (9): 1180–1183.
Baba T, Tanaka S, Maesawa A, Teramatsu T, Noda Y, Yamamoto S . Scleral buckling with macular plombe for eyes with myopic macular retinoschisis and retinal detachment without macular hole. Am J Ophthalmol 2006; 142 (3): 483–487.
A Fumitaka . Use of a special macular explant in surgery for retinal detachment with macular hole Jpn. J Ophthalmol 1980; 24: 29–34.
Sayanagi K, Ikuno Y, Tano Y . Reoperation for persistent myopic foveoschisis after primary vitrectomy. Am J Ophthalmol 2006; 141 (2): 414–417.
Kumagai K, Furukawa M, Ogino N, Larson E . Factors correlated with postoperative visual acuity after vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling for myopic foveoschisis. Retina 2010; 30 (6): 874–880.
Ji X, Wang J, Zhang J, Sun H, Jia X, Zhang W . The effect of posterior scleral reinforcement for high myopia macular splitting. J Int Med Res 2011; 39 (2): 662–666.
Mateo C, Burés-Jelstrup A, Navarro R, Corcóstegui B . Macular buckling for eyes with myopic foveoschisis secondary to posterior staphyloma. Retina 2012; 32 (6): 1121–1128.
Ikuno Y, Tano Y . Vitrectomy for macular holes associated with myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2006; 141 (4): 774–776.
Zheng B, Chen Y, Zhao Z, Zhang Z, Zheng J, You Y et al. Vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling with perfluoropropane tamponade or balanced saline solution for myopic foveoschisis. Retina 2011; 31 (4): 692–701.
Kim KS, Lee SB, Lee WK . Vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling with and without gas tamponade for myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2012; 153 (2): 320–6.e1.
Ho TC, Chen MS, Huang JS, Shih YF, Ho H, Huang YH . Foveola nonpeeling technique in internal limiting membrane peeling of myopic foveoschisis surgery. Retina 2012; 32 (3): 631–634.
Matsumura N, Ikuno Y, Tano Y . Posterior vitreous detachment and macular hole formation in myopic foveoschisis. Am J Ophthalmol 2004; 138 (6): 1071–1073.
Lim LS, Mitchell P, Seddon JM, Holz FG, Wong TY . Age-related macular degeneration. Lancet 2012; 379 (9827): 1728–1738.
Ito Y, Terasaki H, Takahashi A, Yamakoshi T, Kondo M, Nakamura M . Dissociated optic nerve fiber layer appearance after internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic macular holes. Ophthalmology 2005; 112 (8): 1415–1420.
Tadayoni R, Svorenova I, Erginay A, Gaudric A, Massin P . Decreased retinal sensitivity after internal limiting membrane peeling for macular hole surgery. Br J Ophthalmol 2012; 96 (12): 1513–1516.
Alkabes M, Pichi F, Nucci P, Massaro D, Dutra Medeiros M, Corcisteugi B et al. Anatomical and visual outcomes in high myopic macular hole (HM-MH) without retinal detachment: a review. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2014; 252 (2): 191–199.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. The views expressed are those of ours and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gohil, R., Sivaprasad, S., Han, L. et al. Myopic foveoschisis: a clinical review. Eye 29, 593–601 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2014.311
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2014.311
This article is cited by
-
Cystoid macular oedema without leakage in fluorescein angiography: a literature review
Eye (2023)
-
Partial regression of foveoschisis following vitamin B6 supplementary therapy for gyrate atrophy in a Chinese girl
BMC Ophthalmology (2021)
-
“Choroidal caverns” spectrum lesions
Eye (2021)
-
High myopic patients with and without foveoschisis: morphological and functional characteristics
Documenta Ophthalmologica (2020)
-
Intrachoroidal cavitation in myopic eyes
International Ophthalmology (2020)