Abstract / Summary
To describe the clinical and optical coherence tomography (OCT) characteristics of torpedo maculopathy (TM) and report longitudinal imaging findings in eyes with follow-up. This retrospective study included 12 consecutive patients diagnosed with TM at Bursa Uludağ University between January 2016 and January 2026. Clinical data and multimodal imaging, including color fundus photography, spectral-domain OCT, and fundus autofluorescence, were reviewed and classified according to OCT-based classifications. Median age was 11.0 years (IQR, 4.8–18.3; range, 1–53); 9 patients (75%) were younger than 18 years, and 7 (58.3%) were male. All lesions were unilateral: 8 eyes were temporal to the macula (2 subfoveal), 3 were inferior parafoveal, and 1 was subfoveal with nasal extension. Most patients were asymptomatic. Among 10 evaluable patients, visual acuity (VA) was 20/20 in 8 eyes; the remaining 2 (20/40, 20/33) had subfoveal involvement. Median follow-up was 13.0 months (IQR, 10.0–48.0; range, 1–123), including 2 followed at least 10 years, with stable VA throughout. Interdigitation zone attenuation was the most consistent OCT finding, present in all 9 eyes with cross-sectional OCT. Outer retinal cavitation (type 2 TM, 6 eyes) was observed in patients with a higher median age than type 1 lesions (19.5 vs 6.0 years; two-sided exact p=0.048) and became shallower over long-term follow-up. TM is a predominantly pediatric, congenital, and stable retinal lesion. Interdigitation zone attenuation is the earliest and most consistent OCT finding, supporting a spectrum model of outer retinal involvement. Long-term follow-up confirms structural and functional stability, supporting a conservative, observation-based management approach.