Association between Treated Retinal Breaks and Epiretinal Membrane Development.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-29-2026

Publication Title

Ophthalmol Retina

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the temporal association between treatment of retinal breaks (RBs) without detachment using laser retinopexy or cryotherapy and the development of epiretinal membrane (ERM), including ERM peel.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS: After propensity score matching (PSM) and applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 20,191 patients undergoing laser retinopexy (treatment cohort) and 730 patients undergoing cryotherapy (treatment cohort) were each compared with matched untreated RB controls.

METHODS: Data were extracted from a national clinical database (TriNetX). Patients with RBs without detachment treated with laser retinopexy or cryotherapy were compared with individuals with untreated RBs (control cohort) to examine the incidence of ERM formation and ERM peel from three months to five years. A secondary analysis compared laser retinopexy with cryotherapy cohorts directly.

RESULTS: During the five-year study period, both treatment cohorts demonstrated the highest risk for ERM formation early after intervention. In the laser retinopexy cohort, ERM risk was increased at three months (2.88% vs 0.94%; RR, 3.06) and remained elevated at one year (6.27% vs 2.26%; RR, 2.77), with higher ERM peel rates persisting through five years. In the cryotherapy cohort, ERM risk was increased at six months (5.34% vs 1.92%; RR, 2.79) and one year (8.63% vs 2.60%; RR, 3.32). Rates of ERM requiring surgical peeling were low and not estimable at several time points in the cryotherapy cohort due to small event counts. In direct comparison, no significant differences were observed between laser retinopexy and cryotherapy cohorts across all time points.

CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of RBs without detachment with either laser retinopexy or cryotherapy is associated with an increased risk of ERM formation compared with untreated RBs, with risk peaking early following treatment and persisting over time. No significant difference in ERM risk was observed between treatment modalities, suggesting that ERM development may occur as a response to vitreoretinal disruption and inflammation regardless of the specific intervention performed.

Volume

S2468-6530

Issue

26

First Page

00372-6

DOI

10.1016/j.oret.2026.07.013

ISSN

2468-6530

PubMed ID

42526537

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