Macular changes detected by Fourier‐domain optical coherence tomography in patients with hypotony without clinical maculopathy

. Purpose: To investigate macular changes in eyes with postoperative hypotony without clinical maculopathy using high‐resolution Fourier‐domain optical coherence tomography (FD‐OCT). Methods: Fourteen eyes of 12 patients with postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) ≤ 6 mmHg for at least 4 weeks but with no detectable clinical features associated with hypotony maculopathy were imaged by FD‐OCT prospectively. Images were analysed by two retina specialists masked to clinical findings. Results: Most patients were female (83%) and myopic (75%) with a mean age of 65 ± 17 [standard deviation (SD)] years (range 2–86 years). Mean central corneal thickness was 519 ± 34 μm [95% confidence interval (CI) 502–537] and mean IOP before surgery was 20 ± 8 mmHg (95% CI 15–24). During the period of hypotony (mean 15 ± 6 weeks), the average mean IOP was 4 ± 1 mmHg (95% CI 3–5). Abnormal FD‐OCT findings (retinal folds and/or intraretinal fluid) were present in eight eyes. These patients had a higher rate of visual symptoms (75% versus 17%), visual acuity loss (≥ 2 lines; 63% versus 17%) and increased mean foveal thickness (250 ± 26 versus 210 ± 12 μm; p