AIMS—To identify variations in posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) and establish a clinical classification system for PVD. METHODS—400 consecutive eyes were examined using biomicroscopy and vitreous photography and classified the PVD variations—complete PVD with collapse, complete PVD without collapse, partial PVD with thickened posterior vitreous cortex (TPVC), or partial PVD without TPVC. RESULTS—In each PVD type, the most frequently seen ocular pathologies were as follows: in complete PVD with collapse (186 eyes), age related changes without vitreoretinal diseases (77 eyes, 41.4%) and high myopia (55 eyes, 29.6%); in complete PVD without collapse (39 eyes), uveitis (23 eyes, 59.0%) and central retinal vein occlusion (8 eyes, 20.5%); in partial PVD with TPVC (64 eyes), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (30 eyes, 46.9%); and in partial PVD without TPVC (111 eyes), age related changes without vitreoretinal diseases (62 eyes, 55.9%). This PVD categorisation was significantly associated with the prevalence of each vitreoretinal disease (p<0.0001, χ2 test on contingency table). CONCLUSIONS—PVD variations can be classified into four types, which is clinically useful because each type corresponds well to specific vitreoretinal changes.
