Vitreomacular traction
Vitreomacular traction is a maculopathy caused by an abnormal detachment of the vitreous from the retina. As with the macular hole (foramen), there may be adhesion points between the vitreous and the macula. During the process of posterior vitreous detachment, something that happens to almost everyone at some stage over their lifetimes, important traction forces can be created at the adhesion points.
However, this process differs to the macular hole in that with vitreo-macular traction, detachment of the vitreous ‘only’ provokes a deformation of the retina below (the macula).
Symptoms and diagnosis
Deformation of the macula can be serious enough to cause symptoms that can interfere with vision, such as metamorphopsias. Therefore, a patient affected by vitreo-macular traction will have distorted vision. Vitreo-macular traction is diagnosed with an in-depth eye examination associated with an OCT.
As there is a good chance that the vitreomacular traction will resolve spontaneously when the abnormal adhesions that caused the problem are released, it is advisable to wait a couple of months before intervening with surgery.
Treatment
When the problem does not resolve naturally and spontaneously, surgery will be the only option.
Vitrectomy associated with peeling of the epiretinal membrane is the routine treatment.
Also, some clinical indications dictate the need for an injection of Ocriplasmin (JetRea), a product that is extremely efficacious for resolving the problem; however, every individual case must be discussed with the eye doctor who is qualified to estimate the probable success of the injection in the specific patient.
