The outcomes of epiretinal membrane peeling in patients with foveal herniation.

Background: To evaluate the surgical outcomes of vitrectomy in patients with foveal herniation associated with epiretinal membrane (ERM).

Methods: This was a retrospective case series. The patients who had a foveal herniation associated with ERM, underwent vitrectomy, and had a minimum follow-up period of 12 months were included. The visual and anatomical outcomes were assessed during the first 12 months of follow-up and at the last follow-up visit. The main outcome measure was the reorganization pattern of foveal pit at month 12.

Results: Eleven eyes of 11 patients were included. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 14.8 ± 2.6 months. The foveal contour was completely restored in 5 eyes (45.5%), partially restored in 5 eyes (45.5%), and was not restored in 1 eye (9.1%) at postoperative month 12 follow-up visit. The mean preoperative best corrected visual acuity was 0.61 ± 0.16 LogMAR and increased to 0.49 ± 0.16 LogMAR at month 12 ( < 0.0001). The mean preoperative central retinal thickness was 476 ± 128 micrometers and decreased to 302 ± 70 micrometers at month 12 ( < 0.0001).

Conclusion: The foveal contour was restored in 45.5% of the eyes and visual acuity was significantly increased by a mean of 1.2 LogMAR lines at month 12 in patients with foveal herniation associated with ERM.