title: Visual and Anatomical Outcomes Following Idiopathic Macular Epiretinal Membrane Surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the visual and anatomical outcomes following idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane (IERM) surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi, from January 2015 to June 2016.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty eyes of thirty patients affected with idiopathic macular epiretinal membrane stage 2 were enrolled in this study. They subsequently underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with epiretinal membrane removal without internal limiting membrane peeling. The visual outcome was measured as improvement in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of at least two or more lines on ETDRS chart as compared to preoperative BCVA. The anatomical outcome was measured as decrease in foveal thickness on Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). Patients were followed for a period of 06 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the end of follow-ups, 23 (76%) eyes out of 30 gained 2 or more lines of vision. In 05 (16%) eyes, BCVA remained same and only 02 (6.6%) eyes showed worsening of vision. Mean preoperative foveal thickness was 392 ±20 µm, whereas mean postoperative thickness was 305 ±16 µm with an average decrease of 87 µm, in foveal thickness. Recurrence of ERM was found to be the most frequent complication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IERM surgery is a safe procedure and beneficial in achieving significant visual acuity improvement and anatomical recovery in the majority of cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Bashiran
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shahzadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Syed Fawad
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Rizvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Kanwal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Latif
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Murtaza
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Layton Rehmatulla Benevolent Trust (L.R.B.T), Free Base Eye Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Saliha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naz
mesh_terms: D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012160:Retina / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000379:methods*