Macular hole formation after pars plana vitrectomy for the treatment of Valsalva retinopathy: a case report

We report a case of complete surgical resolution of Valsalva retinopathy that manifested as a premacular hemorrhage involving a membrane followed by a macular hole (MH) resulting from the first vitrectomy. A 20-year-old female patient was referred to our hospital due to sudden vision loss in the left eye. Her best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the left eye was hand motion. Fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed a premacular hemorrhage. Nine weeks later, the BCVA in the left eye had returned to 20 / 100 and the premacular hemorrhage had completely resolved, but residual sub-internal limiting membrane deposits and a preretinal membrane were present. The preretinal membrane was removed by core vitrectomy and preretinal membrane peeling, but the foveal deposits could not be excised. Two weeks after the first vitrectomy, the deposits resolved spontaneously, but a full-thickness MH was present. Six months after a second vitrectomy with fluid-gas exchange, the BCVA in the left eye had improved to 20 / 25 and OCT showed that the MH had closed. This case illustrates the possibility of MH formation following vitrectomy for Valsalva retinopathy.