POSTOPERATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE FOVEA AFTER SUCCESSFUL SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH IDIOPATHIC EPIRETINAL MEMBRANES.

To evaluate the change in the fovea's postoperative location after successful pars plana vitrectomy with combined epiretinal and internal limiting membrane peeling in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (iERMs). In this prospective study 32 eyes of 32 patients with iERMs were followed from baseline before until 3 months after surgery. Study measures included 4-m Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study best-corrected visual acuity, enhanced-depth imaging-optical coherence tomography, and intraoperative fundus photographs. Foveal movement was assessed by measuring the change in the papillofoveal distance (∆PFD). Mean ∆PFD in the study eye was -124 µm (±138) and -272 µm (±213) one day and 3 months after surgery, respectively. Mean ∆PFD after 3 months was greater in the study than in the fellow eye (P < 0.001). ∆PFD at Month 3 did not correlate with the internal limiting membrane area peeled (P = 0.78). Foveal movement starts immediately after surgery and causes a statistically significant reduction in PFD after uneventful macular pucker surgery. ∆PFD correlates statistically significantly with baseline best-corrected visual acuity and baseline central retinal thickness. The internal limiting membrane peeling size had no significant effect on the amount of postoperative foveal dislocation.