Epiretinal membrane surgery outcomes in highly myopic eyes without traction maculopathy: long-term results of a case-control study.

Abstract

To evaluate the outcomes of epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery in highly myopic eyes without traction maculopathy, and to compare them with those from non-highly myopic eyes. Retrospective nested case-control study from a cohort of 509 consecutive patients (509 eyes) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy with ERM removal. Thirty-two highly myopic eyes (with a refractive error of more than -6.00 diopters [D]), which underwent surgery for isolated ERM, were included in the study. For each case studied, we selected from the same cohort 2 age-matched controls who had ERM surgery (n = 64 non-highly myopic eyes). The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the central macular thickness (CMT), and the surgical complications were analyzed. The mean follow-up duration was 3.2 ± 1.5 years for the study cases and 3.4 ± 1.6 years for the control group (P = .608). At the final follow-up examination, the mean logMAR BCVA had improved significantly, from 0.56 to 0.26 (P < .001) for the case group and from 0.54 to 0.22 (P < .001) for the control group. At the final optical coherence tomography (OCT), the mean CMT had improved significantly, from 433 to 314 μm (P < .001) for the case group and from 428 to 303 μm (P < .001) for the control group. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups as regards visual or CMT improvement (P = .526 and P = .483, respectively). The incidence of surgical complications was not significant between the 2 groups. The results of ERM surgery were not different in terms of anatomic and visual outcomes and surgical complication between highly myopic and non-highly myopic eyes.