Vascular tortuosity analysis in eyes with epiretinal membrane imaged by optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract

Background This study aimed to evaluate macular vessel tortuosity using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and its association with visual outcomes in eyes undergoing surgery for epiretinal membrane (ERM). Methods The study included 22 consecutive patients who underwent vitrectomy for ERM between May 2019 and July 2020 and OCTA at Osaka University Hospital. All patients underwent ophthalmologic examinations, including swept-source OCTA. Standard vitrectomy was performed, and the patients were followed up for 6 months postoperatively. Distortion of retinal vessels was calculated using two parameters: the actual vessel length in the vessel section (VL) and the direct vessel branching point distance (BD) in the three quadrants (nasal, temporal, and superior-inferior) of the macula. We analyzed the correlation between these parameters and visual outcomes. Results Significantly longer VL was found at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively (p = 0.006, 0.008, and 0.022, respectively) in the temporal quadrant compared to baseline temporal VL. Significantly shorter VL was found in nasal quadrants at 1 and 3 months (p = 0.046 and p = 0.018) in the comparison of nasal baseline VL. VL/BDs were correlated with the same postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 1, 3, and 6 months (p = 0.035, 0.035, and 0.042, respectively) in the superior-inferior quadrant. A significant association of changes in VL and BCVA was found at 3 and 6 months postoperatively in the nasal quadrant (p = 0.018 and 0.0455, respectively). Conclusions Changes in vascular distortion after ERM surgery can be measured using OCTA. The change in vessels around the macula became more linear; this was associated with visual outcomes after surgery.

Quantitative assessment of retinal microvascular remodeling in eyes that underwent idiopathic epiretinal membrane surgery

“…The VT significantly decreased after surgical treatment in this study, which may have contributed to the improvement of macular microcirculation. Consistent with the study by Miyazawa et al ( Miyazawa et al, 2022 ), more linearized vessels were found postoperatively.…”

Rhombus Deformation of Retinal Lateral Displacement After Epiretinal Membrane Removal Revealed by Diffeomorphic Image Registration

“…Previous studies analyzed the retinal structure directly using optical coherence tomography (OCT) images 4,5 or the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and retinal vasculature position using ophthalmic imaging modalities like fundus photography, 1 infrared fundus photography, 2,6 fundus autofluorescence, 7,8 fluorescein angiography, 9 and OCT angiography (OCTA). [10][11][12] OCT angiography, which can analyze the retinal microvasculature noninvasively with good reproducibility, has been used in recent studies focusing on the FAZ and the position of the retinal vasculature. [10][11][12] The estimation of the FAZ area by OCTA and other ophthalmic examinations has been analyzed in multiple studies and is well established, 13,14 whereas the results of the analysis using the position of the retinal vasculature in the target area and the number of measurement points varied among studies.…”

“…10–12 The estimation of the FAZ area by OCTA and other ophthalmic examinations has been analyzed in multiple studies and is well established, 13,14 whereas the results of the analysis using the position of the retinal vasculature in the target area and the number of measurement points varied among studies. 6,10–12…”

“…[10][11][12] OCT angiography, which can analyze the retinal microvasculature noninvasively with good reproducibility, has been used in recent studies focusing on the FAZ and the position of the retinal vasculature. [10][11][12] The estimation of the FAZ area by OCTA and other ophthalmic examinations has been analyzed in multiple studies and is well established, 13,14 whereas the results of the analysis using the position of the retinal vasculature in the target area and the number of measurement points varied among studies. 6,[10][11][12] Image registration, reported in 1989 in the medical application of head x-ray computed tomography, is a method that aligns points in one image with corresponding points in another image according to the configured algorithm.…”

“…[10][11][12] The estimation of the FAZ area by OCTA and other ophthalmic examinations has been analyzed in multiple studies and is well established, 13,14 whereas the results of the analysis using the position of the retinal vasculature in the target area and the number of measurement points varied among studies. 6,[10][11][12] Image registration, reported in 1989 in the medical application of head x-ray computed tomography, is a method that aligns points in one image with corresponding points in another image according to the configured algorithm. 15,16 This method contains rigid registration techniques like rotation, translation, and scale for alignment, as well as nonrigid techniques like deformation.…”