Comments and Conclusion (cont’d)
- In 1964, laser photocoagulation was shown to blanch areas of a retinoschisis, but have no effect on areas associated with a retinal detachment.1,4 It was believed laser photocoagulation could be used to differentiate between the two disorders. However, it was later shown that it was not completely adequate in distinguishing a retinoschisis and retinal detachment.5
- B-scan ultrasound is quite useful in the differential diagnosis.
- OCT is an objective non-Invasive procedure with higher resolution than B-scan ultrasound. A study has shown OCT can be a useful tool in distinguishing retinoschisis from retinal detachment.1 Several of our cases support this conclusion.
- In a study using the Optomap® P200 Standard imaging system, the sensitivity of the optomap® in detecting retinal detachments was 100%.6 It was also noted in the study that it was difficult to differentiate between a retinal detachment and retinoschisis, however, if a retinoschisis was suspected the patient would be referred for additional testing to aid in the differential diagnosis.6