Abstract
The epiretinal membrane (ERM) is a common vitreoretinal intersurface disorder in elderly individuals. The objective of the study was to evaluate the outcome of vitreoretinal surgery in patients with epiretinal membrane. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of thirteen eyes of 12 patients with ERM with mean age group of 63 ± 6.07 (53 – 73) years who underwent vitreoretinal surgery in Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology and completed at least 3 month postoperative follow up from April 2018 to March 2019. The patients’ pre- and post-operative best corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp examination findings, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were evaluated. Three cases were pseudophakic. Out of 10 phakic eyes, 7 had combined surgery and 3 had consecutive surgery (Pars Plana Vitrectomy followed by cataract surgery). The median baseline best corrected visual acuity in Log MAR was was 0.7 (0.6-1.00) which improved to 0.30 (0.25-0.60) in 3 month follow up which was statistically significant (p-0.04).OCT parameters showed decrease in mean CMT from 411.15± 94.52 μm to 318.61 ±118.87μm (p -0.002). One eye developed inferior retinal detachment at 6 weeks follow up, two eyes had postoperative IOP >30mmHg which was managed with topical anti-glaucoma medication and two had persistent cystoid macular edema. Pars plana vitrectomy with membrane peeling is safe and effective in restoring visual acuity in patients with ERM. Though the study population was small with short duration of follow up, results are encouraging, so need further prospective large multi-centered study to determine the effectiveness of ERM surgery.
Key words: Central macular thickness, Epiretinal membrane, Visual acuity, Vitreoretinal surgery.