Role of the vitreous and macular edema in branch retinal vein occlusion.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between macular edema associated with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and the condition of the vitreous.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The authors retrospectively studied 58 patients (58 eyes) who underwent vitreous examination. The eyes were classified as having vitreomacular attachment (VMA) or vitreomacular separation (VMS), and were divided into two groups based on the mean age of the patients.

RESULTS

Macular edema was found in 39 (67%) of the eyes. The prevalence of VMA was 81% (22 of 27 eyes) in group 1 (patients who were 64 years old or younger) and 45% (14 of 31 eyes) in group 2 (patients who were older than 64 years). Although no significant relationship was found, 77% (17 of 22) of the eyes with VMA in group 1 had macular edema. The incidence of macular edema was significantly higher in eyes with VMA (93%, 13 of 14) than in eyes with VMS (41%, 7 of 17, P = .009) in group 2.

CONCLUSION

The authors' findings suggest that VMA may influence the presence of macular edema associated with BRVO.