Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 Aug;80(8):556-63.
doi: 10.1097/00006324-200308000-00008.

Paramacular coloboma

Debi Pian  1 , Steven Ferrucci, Sheila F Anderson, Connie Wu
Affiliations
Review

Paramacular coloboma

Debi Pian et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2003 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Paramacular coloboma (plural: colobomata) is a solitary oval football or torpedo-shaped chorioretinal lesion located temporal to the fovea in one or both eyes. Previous case reports have speculated varying etiology, but few have justified its pathognomonic shape and location. We believe it to be congenital in nature and caused by incomplete differentiation of the arcuate bundles along the horizontal raphe in development of the macular architecture. Associated ocular findings may include blepharophimosis, situs inversus, or other anomalous retinal vascular patterns.

Case reports: Three cases of asymptomatic unilateral paramacular colobomata are presented. In each case, a single oval chorioretinal lesion temporal to the macula was found during routine examination. Visual acuity and Humphrey threshold visual field testing were normal with no other associated congenital, systemic, or ocular abnormalities. Because the lesion is nonprogressive, these patients can be followed on an annual basis.

Conclusion: Due to their anatomical origin, paramacular colobomata are always located temporal to the macula and have an oval football-shaped appearance. Visual acuity and visual field testing are usually normal, although highly observant patients may be aware of a mild scotoma. Differential diagnosis is important because the clinical appearance can be similar to acquired conditions, most notably age-related macular degeneration and presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

  • Macular coloboma.
    Primo SA. Primo SA. J Am Optom Assoc. 1990 May;61(5):373-7. J Am Optom Assoc. 1990. PMID: 2355165
  • The expanding clinical spectrum of torpedo maculopathy.
    Trevino R, Kiani S, Raveendranathan P. Trevino R, et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2014 Apr;91(4 Suppl 1):S71-8. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000000181. Optom Vis Sci. 2014. PMID: 24584305
  • Achondroplasia and Macular Coloboma.
    Ahoor MH, Amizadeh Y, Sorkhabi R. Ahoor MH, et al. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2015 Oct-Dec;22(4):522-4. doi: 10.4103/0974-9233.167819. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2015. PMID: 26692730 Free PMC article.
  • Torpedo maculopathy.
    Teitelbaum BA, Hachey DL, Messner LV. Teitelbaum BA, et al. J Am Optom Assoc. 1997 Jun;68(6):373-6. J Am Optom Assoc. 1997. PMID: 9190137 Review.
  • Retinal dystrophy and macular coloboma.
    Heckenlively JR, Foxman SG, Parelhoff ES. Heckenlively JR, et al. Doc Ophthalmol. 1988 Mar-Apr;68(3-4):257-71. doi: 10.1007/BF00156432. Doc Ophthalmol. 1988. PMID: 3042323 Review.
See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources