The topographic mapping is useful for monitoring patients for the development of macular edema and following the resolution of edema after laser treatment. Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for mapping of macula after laser therapy in clinically significant macular edema (CSME). Materials and methods: A prospective study was carried out enrolling 60 eyes of 35 patients with the diagnosis of CSME. OCT was performed at first visit and every successive

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... low up visit. The retinal thickness was measured automatically using OCT retinal mapping software. Statistics: Correlation between vision status and central macular thickness (CMT) was done using the Spearman's correlation test. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t-test were used for comparison of groups. Results: The OCT revealed sponge like thickening pattern (ST) in 67.4 % followed by cystoid macular edema (CME) in 19.6 %. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improved in 89.1 % after 6 months of treatment. There was high correlation between vision status and CMT (P =<0.001). The mean values of baseline CMT were 301.) microns for the OCT patterns of ST, CME, sub-foveal detachment (SFD), vitreo-macular interface abnormality (VMIA) and average CMT respectively (p=0.042). Conclusion: OCT is a useful tool for evaluating CSME. It can show the various morphological variants of CSME while the BCVA and CMT are fairly different. Key-word: optical coherance tomography, central macular thickness, clinically significant macular edema, laser photocoagulation Shrestha A et al Optical coherence tomographic assessment of macular thickness Nepal