Epiretinal Membrane
What is Epiretinal Membrane?
Epiretinal Membranes (ERMs), also commonly known as cellophane maculopathy or macular puckers, are avascular (having few or no blood vessels), semitranslucent, fibrocellular membranes that form on the inner surface of the retina. They most commonly cause minimal symptoms and can be simply observed, but in some cases they can result in painless loss of vision and metamorphopsia (visual distortion).
CAUSES
The most common cause of macular pucker is an age-related condition called posterior vitreous detachment (PVD), where the vitreous gel that fills the eye separates from the retina, causing micro-tears and symptoms of floaters and flashes.
SYMPTOMS
Most patients with ERMs have no symptoms; their ERMs are found incidentally on dilated retinal exam or on retinal imaging such as with ocular coherence tomography (OCT).
