Pre-retinal proliferative membrane: Causes, symptoms, treatment

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi Bich Nhi - Ophthalmologist - General Surgery Department - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital.
Elderly people often face many health problems, especially vision loss, which greatly affects the patient's life and spirit. One of the most common diseases in the elderly is the anterior retinal proliferative membrane, which is a disease caused by scar tissue appearing on the macula of the eye.

1. What is anterior retinal disease?

The macula, also known as the macula of the eye, is responsible for image acquisition, color perception and plays an important role in central vision. When the macula appears scar tissue, it will cause pre-retinal membrane disease, also known as pre-retinal proliferative membrane, retinal degeneration, ...
Pre-retinal membrane disease often occurs in tall people aged 50 years or older and is quite common in the elderly over 75 years of age. Anterior proliferative membrane disease can cause mild to severe vision loss. However, severe vision loss is quite rare. Although, this disease cannot be prevented, but people can control it by reducing risk factors by limiting eye diseases such as nearsightedness, eye injury, retinal..., wearing glasses protection when playing sports...

2. Symptoms of preretinal proliferative membrane

Here are a few common symptoms of preretinal membrane disease. Accordingly, if the patient shows signs of illness, they should go to a trusted medical facility or hospital for an examination:
The patient sees everything blurry compared to normal, those images may be distorted. Compared to reality Difficulty seeing fine details or reading fine print A gray patch of vision may appear in the center of vision or a blind spot may appear In addition to the specific symptoms described above, patients may experience other unusual ocular symptoms not mentioned. However, if you feel any strange symptoms in your eyes, you should see a doctor to understand your own condition.

3. Causes of pre-retinal membrane disease

Our eyes are filled with vitreous humor, and as we age, the vitreous detachment process causes them to slowly shrink and detach from the surface of the retina. This process has almost no effect other than the appearance of dark spots or smudges in the vision. However, this phenomenon occurs in very small quantities and is not worth mentioning.
However, if the process of vitreous detachment sometimes causes some minor damage to the surface of the retina. As the retina begins to heal, scar tissue or a membrane forms on its surface. These scars then shrink to form wrinkles, and if scar tissue forms on the macula, it causes preretinal proliferative membrane disease. In addition, people who have had cataract surgery, people with diabetic retinopathy are at risk of developing preretinal membrane disease.

4. How is preretinal membrane disease treated?

Through clinical examination, if the patient is suspected of having pre-retinal proliferative membranes, the doctor will order some laboratory tests as follows:
Fluorescein angiography: This is a way to help illuminate areas of the retina. retina by staining. Optical coherence tomography: This is a method that uses a laser camera to capture the retina, helping to accurately diagnose the disease condition as well as measure the thickness of the retina, detect swelling, discharge... accurately identify the patient with the pre-retinal proliferative membrane, the doctor will give advice for the treatment of this disease. Usually, most people with preretinal membrane disease do not need to be treated because the visual effects of this disease are not significant, patients can adapt to their own condition and return to life soon. normal. In many cases, without any treatment, the scar tissue falls off on its own and the preretinal membrane disease disappears completely.
In case the patient's vision is impaired to the extent that it affects daily life, the doctor will appoint surgery if the patient wishes to restore vision. The surgery is performed under local anesthesia, the lens is removed and replaced with saline solution to avoid pulling on the retina. At the same time, the doctor will also remove the scar tissue that causes wrinkles, the main cause of pre-retinal membrane disease.

When surgery is complete, the patient needs to wear an eye patch for a certain period of time, usually a few days to a few weeks to protect the eye, and use eye drops to prevent infection as prescribed by the doctor. Patients should pay attention that if the cause of vision loss is unknown, the patient should not use drugs or nutritional supplements to improve vision.
Eye Specialist at Vinmec International General Hospital has a comprehensive vision and eye health care function for children, adults and the elderly, including: examination, refractive error check, treatment laser and surgery. Besides, the disease also has the task of coordinating with other clinical departments in the treatment of pathological complications and eye injuries caused by accidents.
The entire team of Ophthalmologists at Vinmec International General Hospital are experienced doctors who have performed many types of surgery from routine to difficult surgery, especially demanding techniques. Ask about aesthetics. With enthusiasm and love for the profession, the team of doctors working at Vinmec always gives customers the best services with the highest service quality.
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