Focal Nonperfusion of Deep Retinal Capillary Plexus in Eyes With Epiretinal Membranes Revealed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

BACKGROUND AND
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the leakage pattern in eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERM) using fluorescein angiography (FA) and the structure of the retinal capillary plexus with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors enrolled patients with idiopathic macular ERM in the consecutive case series study. All patients were evaluated using FA at the central macula area and OCTA at the central 3 mm × 3 mm.
RESULTS: Six patients (seven eyes) with ERM completed this preliminary study. The authors examined five eyes that showed increased macular thickness without a lamellar hole and two eyes that showed combined ERM with a lamellar hole. In the five eyes with ERM alone, the irregular focal hypofluorescent areas in FA corresponded to the locations of absent or low flow signals within vasculatures in the deep retinal capillary plexus seen in OCTA, whereas most of the superficial retinal capillary plexus was not affected, except vascular tortuosity in OCTA. In the two eyes combined with lamellar hole, OCTA showed central cystic lesions without vasculatures, but no low flow signals within vasculatures in the deep retinal capillary plexus beyond the hole. These focal irregular, absent, or low flow signals within vasculatures in the deep retinal plexus improved 1 month after surgical removal of the ERM in one eye.
CONCLUSION: Mechanical stress exerted from the ERM might affect deep retinal capillary flow more profoundly than the superficial capillary flow, which would account for the fluorescence changes seen in FA. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2016;47:404-409.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.