Case Report
Case Series of Recurring Spontaneous Closure of Macular Hole
Abdelrahman M. Elhusseiny ,
1,2
William E. Smiddy ,
1
Harry W. Flynn,
1
and Stephen G. Schwartz
1
1
Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine,
900 NW 17 Street, Miami, FL 33136, USA
2
Department of Ophthalmology, Kasr Al Ainy School of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt
Correspondence should be addressed to William E. Smiddy; wsmiddy@med.miami.edu
Received 29 March 2019; Accepted 28 May 2019; Published 16 June 2019
Academic Editor: Maurizio Battaglia Parodi
Copyright © 2019 Abdelrahman M. Elhusseiny et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Macular hole can undergo spontaneous reopening and reclosure. Tis is a retrospective review of three patients who had
spontaneous reopening and reclosure of previously spontaneously closed macular hole documented by optical coherence
tomography. We report the frst case of nivolumab-uveitis-associated macular hole formation. Te authors hypothesize that cystoid
macular edema (CME) might alter the integrity of foveal tissues or conversely the orientation of the macular hole edges and play a
role in formation and resolution of a macular hole.
1. Introduction
Macular holes (MH) are a common cause of decreased
central vision. Most MHs are idiopathic, but secondary causes
include trauma and uveitis. Surgery is usually recommended,
but spontaneous closure of full thickness macular hole
(FTMH) has been reported in 0-6% with one series as high
as 11.5% [1].
In as much as the original pathogenesis is incompletely
understood, the mechanisms of spontaneous closure and
reopening are even less well understood. Certain subsets, as
uveitis-induced MH, are more likely to close spontaneously
and perhaps physical efects from cystoid macular edema play
a role [2]. Conversely, macular edema per se, rather than
infammation, has been implicated as a causative element
[3].
We present three patients who each had spontaneous
MH closure, followed by reopening and reclosure; the MH
closed spontaneously twice. One of these involved uveitis-
associated macular edema caused by nivolumab therapy
and represents the frst reported case associated with MH
formation.
2. Case Description
Case 1. An 80-year-old male presented with bilateral poste-
rior uveitis and CME with onset 5 months afer initiating
nivolumab (Opdivo) for treatment of metastatic cancer due
to an unknown primary tumor. Best corrected visual acuity
(BCVA) was 20/70 OD and 20/40 OS. Oral prednisone,
topical difuprednate (Durezol), and nepafenac (Nevanac)
were started. CME had resolved with improved BCVA (20/30
OU) afer 6 months of therapy. 9 months later, foveal
thinning developed which progressed to a FTMH one month
later (Figure 1(a)), reducing BCVA to 20/60 OS. Scheduled
macular hole surgery (MHS) was cancelled when the vision
improved to 20/40. OCT showed a closed MH, with residual
subretinal fuid (SRF) (Figure 1(b)). Te condition remained
stable until three months later when the patient presented
with decreased VA (20/150). OCT showed reopening of the
MH (Figure 1(c)). Te patient scheduled MHS but wanted
to wait for 3 months, hoping for spontaneous resolution. 3
months later, MH spontaneously closed (Figure 1(d)) with
improved VA to 20/80 OS. Te condition has remained stable
with 20/70 BCVA.
Hindawi
Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine
Volume 2019, Article ID 2398342, 4 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2398342