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. 2023 Nov 3:17:3365-3372.
doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S437815. eCollection 2023.

Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Surgery in Patients Aged Over 80 Years: Efficacy and Safety

Qingjian Li #  1 , Kunhuan Yang #  2   3   4   5 , Qianlin Ji #  1 , Jing Jiang  1 , Rongrong Zong  2   3   4   5 , Yu Zhang  1 , Yiwen Qian  1 , Xin Che  1 , Jinshan Suo  1 , Zhiliang Wang  1
Affiliations

Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Surgery in Patients Aged Over 80 Years: Efficacy and Safety

Qingjian Li et al. Clin Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery in patients aged over 80 years.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with ERM and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling with retrobulbar anesthesia were recruited. Based on age, the patients were divided into the elderly group (≥ 80 years of age) and the control group (< 80 years of age). The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and surgical complications were regarded as the main measurement indicators.

Results: This study included 43 eyes from 43 patients aged 80 to 91 years and 86 eyes from 86 patients aged 54 to 79 years. Surgical intervention substantially improved BCVA both in the elderly and control groups (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). Statistical analyses showed no significant difference in the incidence of surgical complications between the two groups (p = 0.631). The operations in either group were not delayed or canceled for the reason of complications of retrobulbar anesthesia, severe anxiety, or physical discomfort in the perioperative period. Moreover, no patient required a second operation. Also, no stroke, myocardial infarction, or death occurred during the follow-up period. All the surgical complications were treated satisfactorily.

Conclusion: Our outcomes indicate that PPV combined with ERM and ILM peeling with retrobulbar anesthesia is effective and safe in elderly patients aged 80 years or older. Based on age alone, we believe that advancing age should not be the risk factor for idiopathic ERM surgery.

Keywords: complication; elderly; idiopathic epiretinal membrane; pars plana vitrectomy; safety.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Representative optical coherence tomography images from an 83-year-old male patient with ERM in the right eye. (A) Pre-operation. (B) Post-operation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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