The macular diseases mainly involve congenital anomaly (congenital macular coloboma), central serous chorioretinopathy, vitreomacular traction syndrome, vitreous hemorrhage beneath the inner limiting membrane, macular edema, macular hole, macular atrophy and proliferative diseases of the macula, such as retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Stereoscopic photography plays an important role in macular diseases [1–3]. In the past, stereoscopic slide film photography of the retina is the standard with which other imaging modalities have been compared when identifying age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The Age-Related Eye Disease Study, a multicenter prospective cohort study of 4757 participants designed to access the clinical course, prognosis, and risk factor for age-related macular degeneration and cataract, uses stereoscopic color fundus photographs in a standardized fashion by certified photographers [4, 5]. In ETDRS, besides the grading diabetic retinopathy severity by stereoscopic retinal photography, the clinically significant macular edema (CSME), which is one of the key factors affecting the visual acuity, is also diagnosed correctly by stereoscopic digital fundus photography. The kappa (ƙ) values among contact lens biomicroscopy (CLBM), slit-lamp biomicroscopy with 90D/78D or by stereoscopic pairs are more than 0.6. So, in most cases, the stereoscopic photography can be used as a diagnosis tool, especially for screening and telemedicine [4–6].

Abnormalities in macular diseases are various [3, 7, 8]. Drusen are yellow-white deposits within Bruch’s membrane underlying the RPE and vary greatly in appearance, ranging from small round, flat spots in size and shape to large deposits even confluent with adjacent drusen. Geographic atrophy may show a sharply demarcated, usually circular zone of partial or complete depigmentation of RPE and exposure of underlying large choroidal blood vessels. The three kinds of choroidal neovascularization (type I, II, and III), which are correspondent with occult CNV, classic CNV, and retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP), are more vividly and comprehensively shown on stereoscopic pairs than monoscopic and even OCT scans. The retina will be dome-shaped with intra-retinal exudates and cyst, accompanying by intra-retinal, sub-retinal and sub-RPE hemorrhages, sub-retinal and sub-RPE neovascularies, etc. The anastomosis between retina and choroid will be shown clearly on stereoscopic FFA pairs [7]. Macular holes are well-defined defects in the middle of the macula in various sizes. Sometimes, there is a thin membrane above the posterior retina called epi-retinal membrane (ERM).

Generally speaking, with the combination of stereoscopic photography and other high-tech tools such as OCT, more and more macular signs and characteristics will be explored.