Macular retinoschisis associated with normal tension glaucoma.

Background: To describe a case of macular retinoschisis in a patient with normal tension glaucoma without evidence of optic nerve pits or peripapillary retinoschisis.
Methods: Case report.
Results: This patient, diagnosed with normal tension glaucoma, was noted to have macular retinoschisis in the right eye, with matching changes on visual field and optical coherence tomographic (OCT) results. Follow-up examination revealed that the schisis kept on appearing in the right eye.
Conclusions: Macular retinoschisis may appear in patients with normal tension glaucoma. It is possible that microholes in the thinning and structural defects areas in the nerve fiber layer around the optic cup allowed liquid vitreous to enter the retina via the nerve fiber layer. The fluid caused retinal edema, a schisis and even a serous retinal detachment. Further studies are needed to better understand this disease process.