Capillary blood flow velocity in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes.

Abstract

Eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERM) often have tortuous vessels and macular edema, suggesting that eyes with ERM may have a disturbance of the macular microcirculation. The authors studied perifoveal microcirculation in eyes with ERM by means of scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) fluorescein angiography. Mean capillary blood flow velocity (CFV) was measured by SLO fluorescein angiography in 19 eyes with ERM before and 6 months after vitreous surgery and in 19 healthy control eyes. Mean CFV was significantly reduced in the eyes with ERM compared with the healthy control eyes (2.98 +/- 0.32 mm/sec versus 3.34 +/- 0.12 mm/sec, P < 0.05), and postoperative mean CFV was significantly increased compared with preoperative mean CFV (3.14 +/- 0.32 mm/sec versus 2.98 +/- 0.32 mm/sec, P < 0.05). Eyes with ERM show abnormal hemodynamics in the perifoveal capillaries. Surgical treatment of eyes with ERM results in improvement of the abnormal blood flow.