[Development of epimacular membrane following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery].

To understand the development of epimacular membrane following rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery, we studied 105 eyes which had undergone scleral buckling procedure. The membrane was observed in 25 eyes (24%) one month after surgery, and showed gradual increase in its occurrence up to some 50% at nine months postoperatively. Eyes without preoperative posterior vitreous detachment showed no membrane during the postoperative course. A comparison between preoperative detached macula cases with intact macula cases revealed that the occurrence of the membrane was higher in the intact macula cases, being 68% at 12 months after surgery.