Changes in Visual Acuity after Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Removal: Good versus Poor Preoperative Visual Acuity

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Retinal Surgery

Background:

• Idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) is a common cause of visual impairment.
• Surgical outcomes for ERM can vary, and the impact of preoperative visual acuity is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in postoperative visual acuity after idiopathic epiretinal membrane surgery.
• To determine the relationship between baseline visual acuity and surgical outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 159 eyes undergoing ERM surgery.
• Analysis of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield macular thickness (CSMT), and ellipsoid zone (EZ) signal at baseline and post-surgery.
• Patients categorized into good vision (≥20/50) and poor vision (<20/50) groups.

Main Results:

• In the good vision group (Group A), BCVA temporarily worsened but returned to baseline by 6 months.
• In the poor vision group (Group B), significant improvements in BCVA and CSMT were observed post-surgery.
• The ellipsoid zone signal improved in the poor vision group but not in the good vision group.

Conclusions:

• Patients with good baseline vision maintain their visual acuity after ERM surgery, despite a transient decline.
• ERM surgery leads to significant visual acuity gains for patients with poorer preoperative vision.