TEMPORAL CHANGES OF PARAFOVEAL MICROVASCULATURE AFTER EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE SURGERY: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study.

PURPOSE:To investigate whether the parafoveal capillary architecture predicts clinical course and visual outcomes after epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery. METHODS:A total of 71 eyes of 71 patients treated with vitrectomy for idiopathic ERM were enrolled. The parafoveal capillary displacement and fractal geometries were compared according to the stage of ERM. Correlations between the parafoveal capillary displacement in the superficial capillary plexus, the fractal dimension and lacunarity in the deep capillary plexus (DCP), foveal thickness, and visual outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS:Compared with eyes with mild ERM, eyes with severe ERM exhibited higher parafoveal capillary displacement in the superficial capillary plexus, lower fractal dimension and higher lacunarity in the DCP, and greater foveal thickness (P < 0.05). The parafoveal capillary displacement in the superficial capillary plexus and fractal dimension and lacunarity in the DCP improved significantly, particularly at 1 month postoperatively (P < 0.05) and reached a plateau thereafter. The preoperative fractal dimension in the DCP showed a significant correlation with the best-corrected visual acuity at all follow-up time points (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION:The parafoveal fractal dimension in the DCP was significantly correlated with the visual acuity before and after ERM surgery. The parafoveal fractal dimension may serve as a predictive marker for visual outcomes after ERM surgery.