Surgical therapy for chronic aphakic cystoid macular edema

Aphakic cystoid macular edema (ACME) is a common condition seen after intracapsular cataract extractions. In an overwhelming majority of these cases, the condition improves spontaneously. Those cases that persist for months or years, however, are often associated with vitreous strands adherent to the surgical wound and distortion of the pupil. This article reviews the surgical and photocoagulation therapies for this condition that have been reported over the past two decades. All studies report encouraging results, but all have been nonrandomized, uncontrolled trials. This paper describes two randomized, controlled clinical studies that are attempting to evaluate objectively the role of vitrectomy for chronic cases of aphakic cystoid macular edema.