Epiretinal membrane after RD

[catsmith]

I have found out that the reason my vision in my left eye is distorted is because I have developed an epiretinal membrane following surgery for a retinal detachment last September. I understand that this membrane can be peeled off but I sensed some reluctance on the part of my surgeon. His comment was if I could put up with it, it would be better to avoid the surgery. The problem is that I feel that my eyes are fighting. They can't seem to work together. I have no depth perception. After I'm on the computer for an hour I feel disoriented. Just looking through my left eye, everything is wavy, lines of text are illegible. Is there any good reason not to have the surgery?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[JodieJ]

It's been my experience that if a surgeon is reluctant to perform a procedure, you're better off not having surgery with that doctor.  I think you should get additional opinions from other experienced retinal specialists, especially surgeons who have done a lot of ERM peels.  Given your binocular vision difficulties, it sounds like you might really benefit from surgery.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

It is a major eye operation with significant risks including that while the vision is usually better after surgery it is often not normal and is still distorted.

There are many excellent discussions of this type of surgery benefits, risks, and stories of people like JodieJ that have had the surgery. You can access them using the search feature and archives.

JCH MD