Long-Term Outcomes After Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Surgery

PURPOSE: To report anatomic and logMAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) outcomes with long-term follow-up after pars-plana vitrectomy and epiretinal membrane peeling (PPV-MP). DESIGN: A retrospective case-series. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with epiretinal membrane (ERM) who underwent PPV-MP performed by one surgeon. METHODS: Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was recorded as a logMAR preoperatively and, when available, at 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 years after surgery. The integrity of outer retinal layers was evaluated using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative BCVA at different follow-up visits and its correlation with different OCT parameters. RESULTS: Fifty-five eyes of 49 patients were followed postoperatively with a mean of 8.6± 2.6 years (median: 9 years, range 5-16 years). The mean BCVA improved from 0.56±0.29 (20/72) preoperatively to 0.33±0.25 (20/42) at 1 year, 0.29±0.27 (20/38) at 2 years, 0.25±0.28 (20/35) at 3 years, 0.29±0.32 (20/38) at 5 years, 0.28±0.31 (20/38) at 8 years, and 0.28±0.25 (20/38) at 10 years (p<0.001). The BCVA improved at each of the first 3 years postoperatively and remained stable at 5, 8, and 10 years. Postoperative improvement in the integrity of ELM, and EZ, on SD-OCT correlated with improved BCVA. CONCLUSION: BCVA continues to improve after PPV-MP during the first 3 years postoperatively and remains stable. Improved anatomic integrity of outer retinal layers correlated with improved BCVA.