Idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane surgery with simultaneous internal limiting membrane peeling. The experience of the Fribourg Eye Clinic.

PURPOSE To evaluate the visual and anatomical outcomes following idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane (ERM) removal. METHODS A retrospective study of 30 eyes operated for idiopathic ERM was conducted. Pars plana vitrectomy was combined with ERM removal and indocyanine green (ICG) assisted internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling. RESULTS Mean preoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.4 logMAR (0.4 in decimal units), whereas mean postoperative BCVA was 0.26 logMAR (0.6 in decimal units). Mean preoperative foveal thickness was 392 μm, whereas mean postoperative foveal thickness was 305 μm. A statistically significant difference was observed between preoperative and postoperative BCVA (p <0.001, Student's t-test). Optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurement of postoperative foveal thickness revealed a significant decrease in thickness (p <0.0001, Student's t-test), however, no correlation was observed between postoperative BCVA and postoperative foveal thickness (Pearson's correlation coefficient, r = 0.228; p = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS Although significant visual acuity improvement and anatomical recovery was detected after idiopathic ERM removal, full restoration of foveal thickness was not achieved in the majority of cases.