Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate clinical features and surgical results of epiretinal membrane (ERM) secondary to diabetes and to compare them with idiopathic ERM.
Methods: :
Data from 100 eyes of 97 consecutive patients operated on for ERM were reviewed retrospectively. Two groups of patients were studied: diabetic (37 eyes) and nondiabetic (63 eyes). They were compared for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), intraretinal cysts before and after surgery, and the status of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) during surgery.
Results: :
Complete PVD was less frequent in diabetic ERM (40.6%) than in idiopathic ERM (63.2%) (p=0.034). Although both groups showed significant improvement in BCVA, the diabetic group had poorer visual recovery (0.42±0.31 vs 0.23±0.23 logMAR), CMT decreased after surgery in both groups, but final CMT remained thinner in the diabetic group (313.68 vs 341.12µm) (p=0.0181). Conversely, postoperative cystic spaces were more frequent in diabetic eyes (37.037% vs 13.725%) (p=0.0234). Preoperative BCVA was significantly correlated with the visual improvement in the diabetic group.
Conclusions: :
Removal of ERM secondary to diabetes can be recommended, especially to patients without DR. As complete PVD is less frequent in diabetic patients, surgeons should take care to fully remove the posterior hyaloid while operating diabetic patients for ERM.
Keywords: diabetes • retina • diabetic retinopathy