Prognosis of surgery in epimacular membranes after retinal break or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Introduction: The prognosis of the formation of epiretinal membranes after retinal break or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, treated or not treated, does not seem as favorable as that of the idiopathic membranes, but has not yet been extensively studied. Our goal was to analyze the functional result and the retinal complications of the treatment of these membranes. Methods: The retrospective study deals with a consecutive series of 28 patients operated on for epimacular membranes, with a minimum follow-up of 3 months. The outcome measures were the postoperative visual acuity at 3-6 months compared with the preoperative visual acuity, taking into account the condition of the crystalline lens as well as the incidence of membrane recurrence and new or recurrent retinal detachment. Results: A 2-line or more visual improvement was achieved in 57% of the cases (16/28), i.e., 36% of eyes with progressive cataract (4/11), 50% of primary pseudophakic eyes (3/6), and 80% of eyes with unchanged lens (8/10). There was no recurrent epimacular membrane formation, with a mean follow-up of 8.7 months. A new or recurrent retinal detachment was observed in 25% of the cases (7/28). Discussion and conclusion: These results, compared with those achieved in the treatment of idiopathic membranes, as the literature reports, confirm the fair surgical prognosis of epimacular membrane formation after retinal break or rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.