Epiretinal Membrane - update

Yes thankful for news on no signs of pco. Given LE vision is poor getting pco in my right eye would not be good.

Yes Ron - the more I think about it better the vision I have than risk losing eyesight altogether in one eye. Glad it isn't riskier if one waits to have surgery. Thankful vision is good with both eyes open. Brain is amazing to take the better view.

I may have given you this information before. I used to see a retina specialist for occasional eye exams for diabetic retinopathy. They maintain some information pages for patients. If you google the following you should find it. They seem fairly positive on the outcomes of surgery.

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Alberta retina consultants epiretinal membrane

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I see there are quite a few follow up visits required. Something to consider when selecting a clinic.

Thanks Ron. The specialist mentioned going to Halifax. Wonder if I could opt for Montreal as I have family there.

Will look various clinics up. Likely the surgeons that do this surgery see success but most seem to say wait till it interferes with your life - so thinking that the risk is a consideration. Seems healing time takes awhile. Have to keep face downwards for a period of time? Need to read up about it more. Hoping someone here on the forums will weigh in with their experience too. Wonder how it impacts the IOL as well.

I had an epiretinal membrane peeled 2 months ago. I have not yet had cataract surgery. In my case, having surgery was clear cut. I had distorted vision (wavy and tilting lines, etc) and my visual acuity in that eye had gone down to about 20/60. Specifically, I had a macular pucker. This was likely caused by a retinal tear that I had not known that I had.

The recovery has been OK but sort of a pain. I had to be face down during the day for the first week. At night I could sleep on my side (but not my back). During the vitrectomy (the surgery where they did the peel) they found a second small retinal tear and repaired it using laser. Due to that I had to have a long acting gas put in my eye. Usually that it is not necessary for a simple peel. I was just unlucky. My gas bubble is almost gone. During the time of the gas bubble I had very poor vision any place I had to look through the bubble. The bubble is now almost gone and is less of an issue.

My surgeon has showed me the scan of my retina post-surgery. He says the peeled area looks perfect. Even I can see the difference. He says that my vision can improve in that eye for up to 2 years although the bulk of the improvement usually happens in the first 6 months.

At one month after surgery, my vision had improved to 20/40 and I was (am) expecting further improvement. However, the surgery and long acting gas has caused my existing cataract to worsen substantially. So I can't see the vision improvement surgery from the peel until I get my cataract done. That would not be a concern for you given that you already had cataract surgery.

The most important thing I learned from my research was to follow positioning instructions after surgery. This can vary from person to person (not everyone has positioning instructions). I took a lot of care to follow those instructions very carefully.

Really appreciate your comments. Sounds like you've been through a lot. I have read that the ERM peel procedure can cause a cataract and reverse (in my case is true. Just pray if and when I have the peel it doesn't impact my IOL. It is a surgery that comes with more risk so at this point the specialist and optometrist aren't recommending it for me as benefits don't outweigh risks. When vision is so distorted it affects my ability to function is when both have said they recommend the peel. Currently my RE sees perfectly and compensates for LE that has the epiretinal membrane condition. It is weird though if I close my RE to see such distortion to lines (all wavy). Unfortunately if I do have this surgery there id no one in my province that has that skill so eill have to ho yo s neighboring province for the surgery.

I do have another update as I saw my optometrist last week and she had the scans from the retina specialist I saw in July. My optometrist did another scan and noted that the puckering of the membrane moved slightly upwards so it is no longer affecting my central vision as much. She said I could read through that eye one more line that I could not read last time I saw her. Hoping this takes some strain off my RE. My RE sees perfectly at all distances. i am glad I chose an EDOF lens (Symfony) - particularly with this condition. One thi g to consider if opting for any degree of monovision. It would be another adjustment if my RE could only see near for example. But they say it is rate to get epiretinal membrane.

I wish you a full recovery from this. Would appreciate an update about it. Seems like s long recovery time. Are you having to take time off work? Or does your other eye compensate?

Guess adds another stresser to undergo cataract surgery. Take your time in getting consults from surgeons. Lots to think about now there are so many IOL options. I had my cataract surgery in 2017 at 53 both syes. Was quite the shock at being diagnosed with that and glad to have found these forums.

Best of luck to you and if I can be of any help just reach out.

Sue.An