Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Dec 31;9(2):135-143.
doi: 10.1177/24741264241306422. eCollection 2025 Mar-Apr.

Postoperative Outcomes of Combined Phacovitrectomy for Epiretinal Membrane With a Concurrent Cataract vs Standalone Phacoemulsification for a Cataract

Oubada El-Ali  1   2 , Konstandina Koklanis  1 , Meri Vukicevic  1 , Wilson J Heriot  2
Affiliations
Review

Postoperative Outcomes of Combined Phacovitrectomy for Epiretinal Membrane With a Concurrent Cataract vs Standalone Phacoemulsification for a Cataract

Oubada El-Ali et al. J Vitreoretin Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the postoperative outcomes after combined phacovitrectomy for epiretinal membrane (ERM) and cataract (combined group) vs standalone phacoemulsification (control group). Methods: A systematic literature search of Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library was performed. The primary outcomes were the refractive prediction error and mean absolute error expressed as the spherical equivalent. A secondary outcome was the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). The weighted mean prediction error was calculated, and the mean absolute error outcomes were combined for a meta-analysis. When a meta-analysis was not feasible, a narrative synthesis was performed. Results: Of 3632 articles identified in the database search, 6 retrospective case control studies and 1 prospective case study met the inclusion criteria. The 7 studies comprised a total of 584 eyes (combined group, 278 eyes; control group, 306 eyes). The combined weighted mean (±SD) prediction error was -0.41 ± 0.85 D in the combined group, showing a myopic shift, and 0.09 ± 0.45 D in the control group. The meta-analysis for the postoperative mean absolute error showed a significant difference between groups (mean deviation, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.02-0.17; P = .01), favoring the control group. The mean BCVA was 0.34 ± 0.21 logMAR in the combined group and 0.575 ± 0.23 logMAR in the control group (Snellen equivalent, 6/12 and 6/19, respectively). Conclusions: The results of the meta-analysis showed that phacovitrectomy for ERM and concurrent cataract leads to higher prediction errors than standalone phacoemulsification for cataract. However, the postoperative BCVA was comparable between the 2 procedures.

Keywords: epiretinal membrane; pars plana vitrectomy; phacoemulsification; phacovitrectomy; refractive predictive error.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow chart of study search strategy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Forest plot of the mean absolute error, comparing combined phacovitrectomy with intraocular lens implantation for epiretinal membrane vs concurrent cataract and phacoemulsification alone. Abbreviation: IV, independent variable.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kanukollu VM, Agarwal P. Epiretinal membrane. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing LLC; 2022. - PubMed
    1. Johnson T, Johnson M. Epiretinal membrane. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS. eds. Ophthalmology. 2nd ed. Mosby; 2004:947-950.
    1. Stevenson W, Ponce CMP, Agarwal DR, Gelman R, Christoforidis JB. Epiretinal membrane: optical coherence tomography-based diagnosis and classification. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016;10:527. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tranos PG, Allan B, Balidis M, et al. Comparison of postoperative refractive outcome in eyes undergoing combined phacovitrectomy vs cataract surgery following vitrectomy. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2020;258(5):987-993. - PubMed
    1. Tsilimbaris MK, Tsika C, Kontadakis G, Giarmoukakis A. Surgical management of epiretinal membrane. In: Pacheco PA. ed. Advances in Eye Surgery [Internet]. InTech; 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/59216

LinkOut - more resources