Macular Pucker Information
When scar tissue forms around the eye's macular, which is located in the center of the retina, it is called macular pucker. The macular provides the vision needed for tasks such as reading, driving and seeing fine details. If someone has a macular pucker, he might have blurred or distorted vision.
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Symptoms
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Blurred or distorted vision are symptoms of macular pucker. People with the condition might also experience vision loss and straight lines can appear wavy. They might also have trouble reading fine details. It can also cause a spot of gray area in the field of vision.
Causes
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Macular pucker is usually occurs in people older than 50 years of age. Conditions including a detatched retina or posterior vitreous detachment, when the gel between the retina and lens separates from the back of the eye, can also cause macular pucker. Diabetes may also create a greater risk of getting the condition.
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Treatment
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For macular pucker cases with mild symptoms, no treatment might be needed. If it is severe, vitrectomy surgery might be needed. The procedure removes the gel-like substance from over the eye to keep it from distorting the retina. It is replaced by a salt solution. An eye patch is worn after the surgery for a few days to protect it from infection.
Surgery Success Rate
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Surgery does not usually bring back all of the vision lost from macular pucker. In most cases, about half of the vision lost comes back, but it can take up to 3 months to see the results.
Other Names
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Macular pucker is also known as epiretinal membrane, retina wrinkle, surface wrinkling retinopathy and internal limiting membrane disease.
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