Phacoemulsification and 25 Gauge (25G) Vitrectomy Versus Phacoemulsification Only in Idiopathic Epiretinal Membranes

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the difference in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) visual acuity, oct retinal thickness and microperimetry in 2 groups of 30 eyes each affected by idiopathic epiretinal membranes that underwent phacoemulsification and 25G pars-plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling (Group 1) versus phacoemulsification only (Group 2), with a follow-up length up to 5 years.

Idiopathic epiretinal membranes represent a common cause of visual loss in elderly population. Vitrectomy with membrane peeling is nowadays considered the gold standard in the management of such pathology, with very good results either at short-time or at long-time follow up. In case of mild visual impairment due to epiretinal membrane and associated cataract, it is reasonable to treat only the lens pathology (with phacoemulsification and intra-ocular lens (IOL) implantation). In case of symptoms or ophthalmoscopic finding worsening it is always possible to submit patients who only underwent cataract surgery to vitrectomy with membrane peeling. There are, by now, no comparative studies between these two different approaches in medical literature.