The impact of early surgical intervention on aniseikonia in patients with epiretinal membrane: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Purpose: to investigate the efficacy of early surgical intervention in ameliorating aniseikonia among patients with epiretinal membrane (ERM). Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled patients underwent surgery for ERM. Patients were divided into early (symptom onset within 1 year) and late (symptom onset ≥ 1 year) treatment groups. Changes in aniseikonia, best-corrected visual acuity, and tangential retinal displacement were assessed and compared at postoperative 6- and 12-months. Results: Of the 56 patients, 30 (53.6%) belonged to the early treatment group and 26 (46.4%) to the late treatment group. The early treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in aniseikonia score at 6- and 12-month follow-up visits, (-1.10 ± 1.50 [P = 0.002] and -1.18 ± 1.79 [P = 0.003], respectively); however, no improvement was observed in the late treatment group (0.98 ± 4.62 [P = 0.310] and 1.52 ± 4.35 [P = 0.124], respectively). The early treatment group showed larger tangential retinal displacement at postoperative 12-month follow-up visit. In addition, the amount of tangential retinal displacement was associated with postoperative changes in aniseikonia. Conclusions: Early surgical intervention is helpful in improving aniseikonia in patients with ERM. The degree of recovery in inner retinal displacement was associated with the improvement of aniseikonia.