Surgical Treatment of Macular Pucker

Abstract

Nonvascularized cellular membranes growing on the inner retinal surface (epiretinal membranes, ERM’s) occur in a number of clinical conditions including: 1) idiopathic membranes in patients of all ages, but especially during the latter decades of life, 2) following otherwise-successful retinal reattachment surgery, and 3) as a secondary change associated with blunt or penetrating ocular injuries, intraocular inflammation, vitreous hemorrhage, non-proliferative retinal vascular disorders and following ocular surgery. These epiretinal membranes may cause differing amounts of visual loss due to the abnormal tissue covering and/or distorting the macular area (macular pucker) and sometimes causing vascular leakage and intraretinal edema.