Effect of macular edema on surgical visual outcome idiopathic epiretinal membrane in eyes with

Objective: To determine whether macular edema affects the surgical outcome in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membrane. Design: Case series. Setting: University-based referral practice in Vancouver. Patients: Sixty-one patients (63 eyes) (37 women and 24 men ranging in age from 47 to 96 [mean 70] years) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy with membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane. Outcome measures: Degree of macular edema on preoperative fluorescein angiograms (none, mild or severe), as rated independently by two masked observers, and preoperative and postoperative Snellen visual acuity. Results: Of the 63 eyes 32 had no macular edema, 21 had mild edema, and 10 had severe edema. Fifty-two eyes (83%) had an improvement in visual acuity, The mean number of lines of improvement in visual acuity for the three groups was 2.2, 3.7 and 2.6 respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that the factor with the greatest adverse effect on visual outcome was intraoperative macular hole formation. The presence of macular edema preoperatively did not significantly affect visual outcome. Conclusions: Our results suggest that even eyes with significant macular edema secondary to idiopathic epiretinal membranes may benefit from vitrectomy with membrane peeling.