Macular capillary plexuses after epiretinal membrane surgery: an optical coherence tomography angiography study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging
• Retinal Diseases

Background:

• Idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) affects the macula, potentially impacting visual function.
• Vitrectomy is a surgical procedure to remove ERM.
• Macular vascular integrity plays a role in retinal health and visual acuity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate macular vascular integrity using OCTA after ERM removal surgery.
• To correlate OCTA findings with structural and visual outcomes post-vitrectomy.
• To assess changes in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses.

Main Methods:

• Included 43 patients undergoing vitrectomy for unilateral ERM.
• Performed OCTA to image superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP).
• Compared operated eyes with fellow eyes and analyzed interocular differences.

Main Results:

• Eyes with ERM showed lower parafoveal vascular density and smaller foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in both SCP and DCP compared to fellow eyes.
• Interocular differences in FAZ and vascular density correlated with foveal thickness.
• Greater interocular differences were associated with worse postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).

Conclusions:

• OCTA can quantify inner retinal structural changes after ERM surgery.
• Macular vascular integrity assessed by OCTA may predict visual function post-ERM removal.