• Ki Yup Nam and Jung Yeul Kim.
• *Department of Ophthalmology, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; and †Department of Ophthalmology, Kosin University Gospel Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea.
• Retina (Philadelphia, Pa.). 2015 May 1; 35 (5): 880-5.

PurposeTo investigate the difference in the occurrence of postoperative epiretinal membranes (ERMs) in vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with and without peeling of the internal limiting membrane (ILM).MethodsThe medical records of the 135 patients, who underwent vitrectomy for primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment from November 2007 to August 2011, were analyzed retrospectively. Of the subjects, 70 patients underwent ILM peeling during the surgery and 65 did not. The best-corrected visual acuity, fundus photograph, and optical coherence tomography were collected 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. The relationship between ILM peeling and the preoperative findings of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and development of a postoperative ERM was analyzed.ResultsNo ERM occurred in the ILM peeling group, whereas an ERM occurred in 14 of 65 patients who underwent vitrectomy without ILM peeling (21.5%). This difference was significant (P < 0.001). The occurrence of a postoperative ERM was not significantly correlated with other preoperative factors. In the macular-on group, the overall mean best-corrected visual acuity was better in the ILM peeling group and was significantly higher 12 months postoperatively (P = 0.03).ConclusionInternal limiting membrane peeling seems to prevent the occurrence of a postoperative ERM in patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

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