Purpose: To report a case of diabetic macular edema with prominent chorioretinal folds.
Case report: This study involved a 55-year-old male with untreated bilateral diabetic retinopathy who had undergone cataract surgery at another clinic. Following that surgery, diabetic macular edema rapidly exacerbated, accentuating marked cystoid macular edema and radial chorioretinal folds in the macula. Investigation of his medical history revealed that in addition to diabetes, he had uncontrolled hypertension and severe diabetic nephropathy. Vitreous surgery was performed on both eyes due to a resistance to a subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide or intravitreal injection of an antivascular endothelial growth factor agent. After surgery, the macular edema and chorioretinal folds showed a tendency towards improvement. Thereafter, kidney transplant surgery was performed for renal failure, and a mild tendency of chorioretinal folds was observed.
Conclusion: In the case presented in this study, we observed remarkable cystoid macular edema in the fovea centralis and theorize that distortion with the surrounding tissue might have occurred, thus leading to the formation of chorioretinal folds around the macula.
Keywords: Chorioretinal fold; Cystoid macular edema; Diabetic nephropathy; Diabetic retinopathy; Hypertension; Vitreous surgery.