Macular tears rarely occur without trauma. Here, we describe a patient with vitreous haemorrhage, which was caused by an unusual giant macular tear secondary to existing branch retinal vein occlusion. A 60-year-old woman presented with vision loss in the right eye because of vitreous haemorrhage. She had a history of branch retinal vein occlusion and had been treated with retinal photocoagulation 3 years prior. As treatment for vitreous haemorrhage, the patient underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy combined with silicone oil tamponade. During the operation, a large jagged tear was observed in the macula. We presumed that stretching of the fibrous proliferating membrane secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion was responsible for the macular tear and vitreous haemorrhage. Eventually, the results of pars plana vitrectomy led to anatomical closure of the macular tear and partial restoration of visual acuity.
Keywords: Branch retinal vein occlusion; fibrous proliferating membrane; macular tear; pars plana vitrectomy; retinal photocoagulation; silicone tamponade; visual acuity; vitreous haemorrhage.