[Perimetry findings before and after surgical removal of epimacular membranes]

The visual acuity and the central visual field (Octopus program M1) were analyzed before and after peeling of epimacular membranes (EMM) in 18 eyes. The EMM were classified according to their etiology as idiopathic, secondary nonvascular and secondary vascular. A large variability of initial visual field indices was found pre- and postoperatively (table 1). The least functional improvement was found following peeling of EMM with a history of more than 12 months as well as of idiopathic EMM with an initial mean defect (MD) of greater than 3 dB (fig. 8 und 9). The best success rate was achieved for eyes with idiopathic EMM and MD less than or equal to 3 dB and for eyes with secondary nonvascular EMM (fig. 6 and 7). The visual acuity but not the MD improved postoperatively in the 3 eyes with vascular EMM which had developed after a retinal vascular branch occlusion.