ONE-YEAR OUTCOMES OF METAMORPHOPSIA AND RETINAL DISPLACEMENT AFTER EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To examine 1-year outcomes of metamorphopsia and tangential retinal displacement after epiretinal membrane surgery and identify predictors for metamorphopsia score at 1 year and its improvement from baseline. METHODS: M-CHARTS were used to measure metamorphopsia. Distances between the intersections of two sets of retinal vessels were measured with infrared or autofluorescence images. Predictors for metamorphopsia scores at 1 year after surgery and their differences from baseline were identified with multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Ninety-two eyes of 90 consecutive patients were included. The vertical and horizontal distances continued expanding for 1 year ( P < 0.001). Both vertical and horizontal metamorphopsia scores improved 3 months after surgery ( P = 0.025 and P < 0.001, respectively), and horizontal scores continued improving for a year. Horizontal metamorphopsia scores correlated with retinal displacement more strongly than vertical scores. Higher metamorphopsia score at baseline is predictive for that at 1 year. Older age and being male are predictive for less improvement of the score at 1 year from baseline. CONCLUSION: Metamorphopsia correlates with tangential retinal displacement at 1 year after epiretinal membrane surgery. Horizontal metamorphopsia scores keep improving until 1 year postoperatively. Being male and older age are both independent predictors for poor improvement of metamorphopsia after epiretinal membrane surgery.