Epiretinal Membrane

What is it?

What is an epiretinal membrane?

It is a layer of scar tissue on the central retina (macula) which can contract and distort the retina. The retina is the lining of the back of the eye responsible for your vision. Epiretinal membranes occur on the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for fine vision (reading, watching TV, and recognising faces).

What causes it?

What causes an epiretinal membrane?

In most people the cause is unknown. Occasionally, they can be caused by eye conditions such as retinal detachment, inflammation, retinal vein occlusion, trauma and previous eye surgery. Your retina specialist will perform a thorough eye examination to see if you have other eye conditions which may need treatment.

Why does an epiretinal membrane affect your vision?

Like scar tissue anywhere else in the body, epiretinal membranes can contract. This affects the function of the retina by:

1. Causing distortion of the retina.

2. Reducing the amount of light reaching the retina.

3. Causing blood vessels in the retina to leak and the retina to become swollen.

Symptoms

What are the symptoms?

In the early stages, not all epiretinal membranes will affect your vision. However, if they grow thicker they may cause the following symptoms:

1. Distortion of vision - straight objects (e.g. a door frame) may appear wavy. This is more noticeable when you close your other eye.

2. Blurring of central vision.

Diagnosis

How is an epiretinal membrane diagnosed?

It has a typical appearance which can be diagnosed during an retinal eye examination. The following tests may be needed to provide information about the cause and prognosis:

1. Photographs of the retina.

2. Optical coherence tomography scanning of the retina.

3. Fluorescein angiography.

Treatment

Do I need treatment?

Not all epiretinal membranes need treatment, but if the epiretinal membrane shows signs of progressive contraction then many patients benefit from surgery to improve vision or prevent further loss of vision.

Your retinal specialist can/will help you decide if treatment is right for you. This will depend on many factors including evidence of progression after contraction, your level of vision, whether you have other eye conditions, and your own preference.

What is the treatment?

The only treatment is vitrectomy surgery to remove the epiretinal membrane. Depending upon your own preference, the surgery can be performed using local anaesthesia (you will be drowsy and peaceful but not completely asleep) or general anaesthesia (in which you are completely asleep during the operation).

The operation is not painful and usually takes under one hour. It involves keyhole surgery using tiny openings made in the eye. The jelly within the eye (called the vitreous) is removed and the epiretinal membrane is gently separated from the retina.

Retinal Treatment