Pars plana vitrectomy with ERM peeling is safe and effective in restoring VA in elderly patients, and the results are comparable to those previously reported for younger patients with idiopathic ERM. Old age should not hinder surgery in patients with idiopathic ERM who seek to improve their vision and quality of life.

Purpose: To evaluate preoperative and intraoperative parameters in patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for epiretinal membrane (ERM) removal and identify prognostic factors for visual recovery and complications. Furthermore, eyes with and without additional vision-limiting ocular disease were compared. Methods: Ninety eyes of 90 patients who underwent PPV and ERM peeling were included in this retrospective study. Patients were divided according to the presence of additional vision-limiting conditions. Results: The mean visual acuity (VA) improvement was –0.156 logMAR. No parameter was found to correlate with the final VA or postoperative complications. Thirty-four patients (37.8%) had concurrent vision-limiting ocular conditions. Although these eyes had lower initial and final VA, there was no significant difference in VA improvement between them and eyes without concurrent disease. Conclusions: PPV and membrane peeling is an effective treatment for patients with ERM, even in the presence of concurrent vision-limiting ocular disease.