**8. Summary**

OCT is vital for ophthalmologic clinical and surgical decision-making, in particular for macular pathologies. It complements clinical examination in diagnosing vitreoretinal interface pathologies, including macular hole [27]. OCT allows the clinician to detect initial stages of macular hole, follow its progression, and intervene early in case of progression to full-thickness holes. It can unequivocally detect the presence of a macular hole as well as changes in the surrounding retina, distinguishing it from lamellar holes and cystic lesions of the macula. Also, the status of the vitreomacular interface can be evaluated. Various macular hole factors enable the surgeon to discuss the prognosis with patients to give a more realistic expectation. Novel surgical modifications have been attempted for large macular holes diagnosed on OCT, with improved postoperative results. Intraoperative OCT is a new tool in the armamentarium helping the surgeon evaluate the completeness of ILM peel with minimal tissue disruption, thus aiding postoperative hole closure. Postoperative evaluation with OCT helps to elucidate the structural and functional changes associated with different surgical techniques. It helps us understand the mechanisms of postoperative improvement observed along with changes in the retinal architecture. OCT also helps us correlate anatomic success with functional success/ failure, based on various types of hole closures and integrity of IS/OS junction.

With advances in OCT entering clinical practice, we can see an exponential expansion of our ophthalmic knowledge with a parallel improvement in patient care.
