Purpose:
To describe ultrastructural features of an epiretinal membrane(ERM) from an eye with retained perfluorocarbon liquid (PFCL)from a retinal detachment repair 15 years ago.
Methods:
A 59-year-old woman underwent 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomywith membrane peeling to remove a thick, irregular ERM. Thespecimen was fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde, and reviewed underthe transmission electron microscope (EM) after routine tissueprocessing.
Results:
The EM showed multilayered membranes with internal limitingmembrane and one to three thick collagen layers (up to 10µm)with interposition of cell layer and dead cell debris. The celllayers were mainly composed of fibrous glial cells and fibroblastlike cells containing numerous vacuoles in the cytoplasm.
Conclusions:
The EM of an ERM from an eye with long-standing retained PFCLrevealed unique ultrastructural features. The thick multilayeredcollagen and the vacuole containing cells are very unusual findingsin ERM. The contents inside vacuoles in the cells are likelyPFCL. We hypothesize that PFCL may cause long-standing, subclinicalinflammation stimulating fibroblast like cells to produce collagen,contributing to the development of the ERM.
Keywords: vitreous substitutes • pathology: human • extracellular matrix