An Unusual Case: Self-separation of an Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane

Abstract

Self-separation or peeling of an idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) in an eye with partial posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) is a rare event. A 56-year-old woman presented to our clinic with complaints of floaters in her right eye. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 9/10 in this eye. Fundus examination and Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) revealed an idiopathic ERM and grade 3 PVD in this eye. Four months later, she had complaints of metamorphopsia in her right eye. BCVA was 7/10, while SDOCT images of the right macula were similar to previous images. One week after the last visit, she presented again due to the sudden disappearance of her metamorphopsia complaints. BCVA had improved to 10/10. Fundus examination demonstrated that the ERM had spontaneously separated from the retinal surface as a flap floating in the vitreous and the foveal contour had returned to normal. The etiologic mechanism may be explained as the contracting forces within an immature ERM being stronger than its adhesion to the retina.

Keywords

• epiretinal membrane
• posterior vitreous detachment
• spectral domain optical coherence tomography