{"id":4113,"date":"2022-05-03T11:47:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T10:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/macularholes\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:15:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:15:46","slug":"macularholes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/guidelines\/ophthalmology\/acutevisionloss\/macularholes\/","title":{"rendered":"Macular Holes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Macular\nholes cause decreased central vision and distortion. They cause gradual\nreduction of vision. In some cases they can be bilateral and they usually occur\nin those over the age of 60.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nsignificant these can be surgically repaired, however they require the patient\nto be able to position face down for 1 week post-operatively. This is a vital\npart of the surgery to ensure the hole closes over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>JC &amp; BC 28\/1\/26<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs\" data-active-tab=\"0\"><ul class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-links\"><\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Referral Guidelines<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who to refer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/files\/sites\/2\/Ophthalmology-\u2013-Lothian-GP-and-Optometry-Ophthalmology-Referral-Pathway.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/files\/sites\/2\/Ophthalmology-\u2013-Lothian-GP-and-Optometry-Ophthalmology-Referral-Pathway.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Please see Lothian GP and optometry ophthalmology referral pathway<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/files\/sites\/2\/Urgency-of-the-condition.pdf\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/files\/sites\/2\/Urgency-of-the-condition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Urgency of the condition<\/a>&nbsp;for details on how soon patients should receive an appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please see condition specific information for descriptions and management of many common ophthalmological conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients who present with a problem with their only seeing eye should be advised to see an optician\/ophthalmologist for review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who not to refer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to refer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We require a referral letter for EVERY patient<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The preferred referral process is via SCI Gateway. If sending\/forwarding a referral via SCI gateway please include past medical history, allergies and medications<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you do not have access to fax or SCI Gateway e.g. if you have arranged an appointment out of hours please send a written referral letter with the patient to bring to their appointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only if SCI Gateway is unavailable should a letter be typed or handwritten. Please write legibly and include your examination findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have arranged an appointment in the acute referral clinic and you are referring from within another hospital in Lothian please use TRAK to type the referral letter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__nav-link\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title-wrapper\"><a href=\"#\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__title\">Resources and Links<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content-wrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-getwid-tabs__tab-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Macular holes cause decreased central vision and distortion. They cause gradual reduction of vision. In some cases they can be bilateral and they usually occur in those over the age of 60.&nbsp; If significant these can be surgically repaired, however they require the patient to be able to position face down for 1 week post-operatively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3678,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[463],"class_list":["post-4113","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-macularholes"],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":" <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/category\/ophthalmology\/acutevisionloss\/macularholes\/\" rel=\"tag\">Macular Holes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Macular holes cause decreased central vision and distortion. They cause gradual reduction of vision. In some cases they can be bilateral and they usually occur in those over the age of 60.&nbsp; If significant these can be surgically repaired, however they require the patient to be able to position face down for 1 week post-operatively.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4113"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26339,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4113\/revisions\/26339"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apps.nhslothian.scot\/refhelp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}