Wide-based foveal pit: a predisposition to idiopathic epiretinal membrane

The Correlations of Macular Structure Characteristics With Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane and Its Sexual Preference—A Matched Comparison Study

“… 9 , 16 , 17 Our previous study also observed a female preponderance in eyes with a wide-based foveal pit. 8 In this study, it was found that females had not only a wider FBW and a thinner CFT but also a wider RAT. This is compatible with the assumption that females may have a stronger centrifugal force at the macula that results in this phenomenon.…”

“…In our previous study, 8 a specific pattern of the fovea—wide-based foveal pit—was noted. Eyes with a wide-based foveal pit either had a similar wide-based foveal pit or some vitreomacular diseases including ERM and macular hole in their fellow eyes.…”

Macular Structure Characteristics in Unilateral Idiopathic Full-Thickness Macular Hole and the Healthy Fellow Eyes

“…Because the vitreous is usually attached tightly to retinal vessels, the larger distance between vessels may exacerbate the tangential force on the vitreomacular interface and the central macula, which also widens the foveal base. 14,15,21,22 Additionally, we also found that the CST and CFT were thinner in the fellow eye of patients with unilateral FTMH than in healthy controls, although no significant statistical differences were noted. These results were similar to those of Kumagai et al 23 This is compatible with our hypothesis that tangential traction plays a vital role in FTMH formation with stretching of the central retina.…”

“…Sometimes ERM and MH may exist simultaneously. Another study from our team has demonstrated that fellow eyes with unilateral ERM had a larger foveal base width (FBW) and a wider retinal artery trajectory (RAT) than the normal population; 14,15 These findings support our hypothesis that some tangential centrifugal traction may cause the development of ERM due to glial cell proliferation after the formation of the ILM cleft. We aimed to elucidate whether tangential centrifugal traction is also a possible cause for the development of FTMH.…”

“…In our previous study, we identified a wide-based foveal pit as a specific foveal pattern that was associated with higher incidences of vitreomacular abnormalities, including ERM and 5 FTMH. 14 We proposed that the widening of the foveal pit may be related to tangential centrifugal traction at the macula, which may keep dragging the macula centrifugally, leading to some vitreomacular interface change including internal limiting membrane (ILM) cleft formation, glial cell proliferation, and eventually ERM formation; on the other hand, such traction force may lead to foveal thinning, lamellar macular hole formation, and FMTH formation in the long term. Sometimes ERM and MH may exist simultaneously.…”