Changes in the eye’s anatomy have the potential to affect visual acuity throughout patients’ lives, but those with myopia and dome-shaped macula may not have too much to worry about. A recent study of 26 eyes of 18 myopic patients (mean age 61.2 years) with a dome-shaped macula and with or without untreated serous retinal detachment found that best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was largely unaffected.

In the prospective, single-center study, patients underwent complete ophthalmological examinations, OCT imaging, axial length measurements and autofluorescence. Follow-up visits occurred at a maximum interval of every six months for the four years of the study. The researchers excluded any eyes with choroidal neovascularization.

At baseline, the researchers noted 13 eyes with serous retinal detachment and 13 without; dome-shaped maculae were horizontal (69%) and round (31%), and there weren’t any significant differences in BCVA between eyes with and without serous retinal detachment. The researchers did note that baseline BCVA had a significant effect on final BCVA. Additionally, they found that serous retinal detachment fluctuated over time, and serous retinal detachment height was significantly influenced by choroidal thickness, but scleral bulge had no effect on serous retinal detachment thickness.

They concluded that BCVA remained clinically stable over the four-year study, despite fluctuations and persistence of serous retinal detachments.