Case Report: A case of unexplained retinoschisis

TL;DR

A young man with unexplained retinoschisis showed improvement after corticosteroid treatment, suggesting possible non-surgical management.

Contribution

This case report presents a rare instance of spontaneous resolution of retinoschisis following corticosteroid therapy.

Findings

Retinoschisis worsened initially but completely resolved by the 40-day follow-up.

Oral corticosteroids may be a viable treatment option for certain cases of retinoschisis.

Posterior vitreous detachment without vitreomacular traction can be managed with observation or glucocorticoids.

Abstract

Retinoschisis is characterized by separation of the neurosensory retina into two layers. The traditional pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and macular buckling has been shown to resolve retinoschisis. We report a case of unknown cause of retinoschisis in a young adult.

A 24-year-old man presented with an 18-day history of metamorphopsia and blurred vision in his left eye. Optical coherence tomography revealed retinoschisis in the macula, the temporal side of the macula, and near the superior and inferior vascular arches. The patient was treated with oral corticosteroids. His clinical characteristics and status of retinoschisis were monitored at each visit. The retinoschisis initially became aggravated; however, it had completely resolved by the 40-day follow-up visit.

Clinicians should be aware that, for patients with clinically identified posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) without vitreomacular traction (VMT), follow-up observation or empirical treatment with glucocorticoids can be considered to observe the disease outcome.

Figures