Standard internal limiting membrane peeling versus internal limiting membrane abrasion technique for primary epiretinal membrane surgery

| Purposes: The purpose of this study is to compare the standard inner limiting membrane peeling technique to the inner limiting membrane abrasion technique with respect to visual outcomes and central retinal thickness in the primary epiretinal membrane surgery. Methods: A total of 59 eyes from 57 epiretinal membrane patients were separated into two groups including the standard inner limiting membrane peeling group and the inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion technique group. At 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up, the mean alteration in best-corrected visual acuity and central retinal thickness were assessed for each group. Results: The study includes 32 (54%) standard inner peeling and 27 (46%) inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion technique patients. The mean preoperative logMAR best-corrected visual acuity for the standard inner limiting membrane peeling and inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion groups was 0.73 (+/- 0.29) and 0.61 (+/- 0.3) respectively. At 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up, the best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly in each group. At each period of observation, the alteration in best-corrected visual acuity was not statistically significant (p=0.54, p=0.52, p=0.67). When comparing the alterations between the standard inner limiting membrane peeling and inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion technique groups at 6 months (p=0.26) and 24 months (p=0.06), no statistically significant differences were observed, but they were statistically different at 12 months (p=0.03), reflecting a greater reduction in central retinal thickness for the inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion technique group after one year. Conclusion: Abrasion of the inner limiting membrane with a diamond-dusted membrane scraper during epiretinal membrane surgery demonstrates similar effectiveness to the standard inner limiting membrane peeling technique. At 12 months, retinal thinning was found to be more significant in inner limiting membrane peeling with abrasion technique patients in terms of central retinal thickness values. As a result, it may be argued that the inner limiting membrane abrasion technique eliminates the inner limiting membrane and related structures more effectively while inflicting less retinal damage.