Senile retinoschisis versus retinal detachment, the additional value of peripheral retinal OCT scans (SL SCAN-1, Topcon)

Purpose: A peripheral senile retinoschisis is sometimes difficult to distinguish from a retinal detachment by biomicroscopy alone. This study evaluated spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) scans of the far peripheral retina to improve the differentiation between these diseases. Methods: Patients were included in whom the distinction between retinal detachment and senile retinoschisis was not clear based on biomicroscopy alone, or who had a presumed clinical diagnosis of senile retinoschisis. OCT scans were made with the SLSCAN-1, through a hand-held lens and a 3-mirror contact lens, while the area of interest was simultaneously observed with the slit lamp. The SLSCAN-1 is a SD-OCT integrated into a slit lamp, superluminescent diode light source with a central wavelength of 830 nm, bandwidth 30 nm, scan resolution 8-9 μm in tissue, scan depth 2 mm, scan speed 5000 A-scans per second. Results: In the 11 patients with an uncertain diagnosis, OCT scans showed a senile retinoschisis in four and a retinal detachment in seven patients. Fifteen of the 18 patients with a presumed diagnosis of retinoschisis showed a retinoschisis on OCT. In five of them, the OCT scans revealed a schisis detachment. Interestingly, three of the 18 patients had a retinal detachment. Conclusion: Senile retinoschisis may mimic a peripheral retinal detachment and vice versa. Differentiation is important with respect to therapeutic decisions. OCT scans of the far peripheral retina, which can be made with the SLSCAN-1 through a 3-mirror contact lens, can contribute significantly to this differentiation. The obtained scans of the far peripheral retina clearly visualize the anatomic differences between both diseases.