Persistent outer retinal defect after successful macular hole repair

To report two cases of a persistent outer retinal defect evident by optical coherence tomography (OCT) after clinically successful macular hole surgery. Retrospective case series. A retrospective case series of two patients who had a persistent outer retinal defect by OCT and excellent visual acuity after clinically successful macular hole surgery. Two patients with stage 2 macular holes and preoperative visual acuity of 20/70 and 20/60, respectively, underwent macular hole surgery. Although the macular holes were closed on clinical evaluation, a persistent outer retinal defect was identified by OCT in both patients. At 5 to 6 months postoperatively, the outer retinal defect became less prominent and the visual acuity remained at 20/20 in both patients. An outer retinal defect by OCT may occur in the early postoperative period after macular hole surgery. Despite this defect, good visual acuity is possible.