Causes Symptoms Diagnostics Treatment Our advantages Cost of treatment
Epiretinal membrane - a slowly progressive pathology, which usually occurs at greater age than 65-70 years. The membrane is a thin whitish film formed in the posterior part of the eyeball, specifically in the thickness of the vitreous body in the vicinity of the macula. As the progression of pathological changes a thin soft film gradually turns into a dense scar tissue, constricting the retina and causing swelling of the tissues in the macula, and sometimes - the tension with subsequent rupture or retinal detachment.
Causes
Most often, this formation is found in elderly people suffering from other eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, myopia, vitreous destruction, thrombosis of the central retinal vein and so on. In some cases, epiretinal membranes occurs for no apparent reason, ie is an idiopathic disease.
Symptoms
Since the epiretinal membrane affects the macula, the symptoms of this disease are progressive decline of central vision, worsening of color perception and emerging of image distortion as well as blurred vision. In most cases, the disease affects one eye. An indirect sign that could indicate the emergence of epiretinal membrane is stable diplopia (double vision), retaining even when the patient closes the healthy eye.
Diagnostics
Epiretinal membrane can be detected during the inspection of the fundus (ophthalmoscopy). Formation looks cobweb film, often resembles cellophane, so that the disease is sometimes called "cellophane retinopathy.".
In patients who have difficulties carrying out ophthalmoscopy on (cataract, severe degradation of the vitreous body, corneal opacities), to identify epiretinal membrane and specify its dimensions and structural features help ultrasonic methods of eye examination and optical coherence tomography.
Signs of the macula lesion can be detected by a lattice Amsler (curved lines) and visual acuity.
Treatment
Epiretinal membrane is treated only by surgery, the only solution is to remove it. Indications for surgery is a significant loss of central vision, which violates the normal life of the patient. Since the removal of epiretinal membrane is a complex manipulation, the surgery is perfomed in case when the potential risk of intraoperative damage to the retina of the patient is comparable to his existing visual impairment.
The first stage of the operation is the removal of the vitreous body (vitrectomy) that provides medical access to the posterior pole of the eyeball. This is followed by removal of the epiretinal membrane. As with any abdominal surgery, there is a risk of various complications, such as general (infection, bleeding) and narrower (increased intraocular pressure, cataract, retinal detachment and rupture).
With a favorable outcome of the operation, in most cases it is possible to achieve improvement of visual acuity in a patient to 20 percent or more.
Advantages of Moscow Eye Clinic
For the treatment and diagnostics of eye diseases in the clinic is used the most accurate equipment and effective methods recognized by leading clinics around the world. The level of training specialists in Moscow Eye Clinic allows the intervention of any level of complexity. In Moscow Eye Clinic work recognized world-class experts, professors and doctors, who have enormous practical experience.
Treating the epiretinal membrane and carrying out other surgeries on the posterior segment of the eye in our clinic is managed by vitreoretinal surgeon Ilyuhin Oleg Ebgenievitch. During the years of professional activity he has successfully performed thousands of complex vitreoretinal operations. Doctor Ilyuhin Oleg Ebgenievitch repeatedly passed specialization in the leading domestic and foreign eye clinics. Operations are also performed by the surgeon of the highest category, the chief medical doctor of the clinic Fomenko Natalia Ivanovna, who has successfully carried out more than 12 thousand operations of different complexity.
Specialists of Moscow Eye Clinic provide all necessary assistance seven days a week, from 9am to 9pm without days-off. During treatment, preference is given to minimizing the number of outpatient visits and procedures in all cases when this is possible.
The cost of epiretinal membrane treatment
The cost of treatment is summed up by diagnostic studies, the volume of medical procedures and manipulations, which for each patient is chosen individually. Prices for medical services are available and fixed in the contract. The cost of diagnostics and treatment of eye diseases can be viewed here.
You can ask our experts any questions you have by phone in Moscow: 8 (800) 777-38 81 and (499) 322-36-36 (daily from 9:00am to 9:00pm) or online by using appropriate form on the website.
