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Photoreceptor change and visual outcome after idiopathic epiretinal membrane removal with or without additional
Seong Joon Ahn1, Jeeyun Ahn, Se Joon Woo
1*Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea; †Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; and ‡Department of Ophthalmology, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Purpose:
To compare the postoperative photoreceptor status and visual outcome after epiretinal membrane removal with or without additional internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling.
Methods:
Medical records of 40 eyes from 37 patients undergoing epiretinal membrane removal with residual ILM peeling (additional ILM peeling group) and 69 eyes from 65 patients undergoing epiretinal membrane removal without additional ILM peeling (no additional peeling group) were reviewed. The length of defects in cone outer segment tips, inner segment/outer segment junction, and external limiting membrane line were measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography images of the fovea before and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the surgery.
Results:
Cone outer segment tips and inner segment/outer segment junction line defects were most severe at postoperative 1 month and gradually restored at 12 months postoperatively. The cone outer segment tips line defect in the additional ILM peeling group was significantly greater than that in the no additional peeling group at postoperative 1 month (P = 0.006), and best-corrected visual acuity was significantly worse in the former group at the same month (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the defect size and best-corrected visual acuity at subsequent visits and recurrence rates between the two groups.
Conclusion:
Patients who received epiretinal membrane surgery without additional ILM peeling showed better visual and anatomical outcome than those with additional ILM peeling at postoperative 1 month. However, surgical outcomes were comparable between the two groups, thereafter. In terms of visual outcome and photoreceptor integrity, additional ILM peeling may not be an essential procedure.
