Hello! I am new here. I went to my eye Dr thinking I was just going to get a new prescription and glasses. Anyway the Doc says I either have a macular cyst or a hole. I have searched about the internet and all the info I find say they are the same thing? Does anyone know the difference between a hole and a cyst. I have an appointment with a eye specialists on the 11th. Im hoping it's just a cyst. I'm thinking maybe a cyst is a precursor to a hole?

Thanks! Carolynn

A macular hole is when the liquid inside your eye (vitreous) pulls away from the macula, sort of like when you take wallpaper off the wall and a little piece pulls away. When you look through that eye there is a ripple effect, like a fold in paper. When you look at the eye chart, you may be unable to see some of the letters in a row. It is usually repairable with surgery. I had a macular hole, but have never heard of a macular cyst. If it is a precursor to a hole, it didn't happen with me. Glad you have an appointment with the specialist.

Hi Liane, thanks for the post. I finally found my answer. A macular cyst is the earliest stage of a macular hole. So I guess thats why the Doc said if it was a cyst they would just watch it. Hopefully it will heal and not become a hole.
Well anyway I'll find out on Friday. I read in another thread that you had the surgery for a macular hole. Do you happen to know how much it cost because I do not have any insurance? Thanks! Hope your eye is healing well!

Carolynn

I have no idea of the cost of the surgery, it was day surgery, which means I went home after, but had to return to the doctor the next day and then about every four days for check-ups. This can't be cheap! I live in Canada, so it is part of our medical plan. Do you have any symptoms, like odd vision or anything, or was it just detected by your eye physician?

Hi Liane. Another Canuck, eh? What area are you in?

Torre

I had no symptoms. It was found during the exam. My vision has always been 20/20 with glasses. The eye is 20\25 now. If I close my good eye the only problem I have is with small print (reading) a little blurry but not bad. I also had the test were you hit the clicker when you see a flashing light and had a hard time with it. Had to blink alot and even shut my good eye. I missed some flashers in the area where the defect in my macula is. I'm not too worried yet as it 's not a big problem at this time.

Hi again--Let us know how your appointment goes on the 11th. I'm glad you're not worried, it is best to get informed and then deal with the issues as they arrive.
Torre-I'm on the wet west coast! You?

Southern Ontario.

T.

Hi--Just wondering how your appointment with the specialist went? Keep us posted-L.

Hi Liane, thanks for asking! Actually my appointment was great. The Opthalmologist said my Macula looks healthy to her. My Optometrist looked quite young and was a replacement as my normal Dr. left the office. I looked up his license and he has only had it a little over a year. I guess he is just inexperienced. I was upset at him that he had me concerned over nothing but I guess it was better than him being careless or missing something. In the end I'm happy my eye is okay. The Opthalmologist will look at my eye again in a few months just to be sure. She thought maybe my visual field test was probably off a little because I was nervous or tired. My vison was 20/20 in both eyes today!