Understanding Epiretinal Membrane

Epiretinal membrane is a thin layer of tissue which is exceptionally sensitive when it comes to focusing on images. It is responsible for sending information to the brain so that you can identify what is in front of you, whether it’s a person or an object.
In order to understand this condition, you also need to understand what a macula is. This is found in the centre of the retina and is used when you read and helps identify shapes. Scar tissue can form over the macula which then distorts the epiretinal membrane. As a result the macula doesn’t work effectively, if at all.
There is good news about this condition and that is that it will not cause complete blindness. There is also no underlying cause for this condition, it is often a result of the vitreous pulling away from the retina and occurs mostly in adults over the age of fifty.
Epiretinal membrane is not a major problem, what it will do though is distort your vision, which is ore frustrating than anything else, but you are sure to not loose your eye sight completely.
The best solution to repairing the epiretinal membrane and the side effects associated with it is surgery. Surgery is performed by an experienced and qualified eye surgeon who has extensive experience conducting this type of surgery. It is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, though there are cases where general anaesthetic is used. It is carried out as an outpatient procedure, so you can go home for the night once you have recovered from the anaesthetic and the surgeon is happy with the outcome.