Spectral domain high-definition optical coherence tomography in patients undergoing epiretinal membrane surgery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate possible advantages of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in epiretinal membranes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERMs) were examined before and after vitreoretinal surgery. Cirrus SD high-definition (HD)-OCT was compared with Stratus time domain OCT to find correlations with visual acuity (VA) and metamorphopsia. RESULTS: Five consecutive patients were enrolled. With Cirrus HD-OCT, it was possible to differentiate between the ERM and the retinal surface in all patients. In areas where the ERM was adherent, this differentiation was severely limited with Stratus OCT. We found no significant correlations between Cirrus OCT and Stratus OCT for retinal thickness and VA. However, we found a relationship between metamorphopsia and topographic maps of the internal limiting membrane. CONCLUSION: Cirrus HD-OCT improved the preoperative evaluation of ERMs, offered a topographic reconstruction of the vitreomacular interface, and improved identification of retinal structures.