[Effects of internal limiting membrane peeling in epiretinal membrane surgery on OCT-angiography]

Purpose: To assess macular microvascular parameters using OCT-angiography (OCT-A) in idiopathic epiretinal membrane surgery with or without internal limiting membrane peeling.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively studied 17 eyes of 17 patients who underwent vitrectomy surgery for idiopathic epiretinal membrane with (n=10) or without (n=7) internal limiting membrane peeling. Patients operated on between July 2020 and June 2022 at the Colmar Hospital (France) by a single surgeon were evaluated before and 1 month after surgery, using OCT-A (Spectralis OCT-A module, Heidelberg Engineering®, Germany). The parameters studied were the area, perimeter and acircularity index of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), the foveolar (FVD) and parafoveolar (PRVD) perfusion density and the macular vessel density ratio (MVR) in the superficial vascular complex (SVC) and the deep vascular complex (DVC). These parameters were measured using ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA).

Results: We found no statistically significant difference between the two groups postoperatively in either area, perimeter, or acircularity index of the FAZ, FVD, PRVD, or MVR in either the SVC or DVC.

Conclusion: Our results with regard to macular microvasculature demonstrate no difference related to peeling of the internal limiting membrane and thus do not argue against this practice during epiretinal membrane surgery.