UNASSIGNED: A 69-year-old male was referred because of widespread epiretinal membrane formation after treatment of recurrent retinal detachments. During surgery with extensive membrane peeling, a large continuous membrane was peeled from the superior arcade towards the inferior temporal mid-periphery. Histopathological analysis of this membrane revealed areas with different characteristics: paucicellular laminar collagen-rich areas, suggestive for VCR, areas with increased cellularity, and more fibrotic areas with low cellularity.The immunohistochemical analysis identified cell type variety in these areas: collagen-rich areas showed glial cells and hyalocytes, while in areas with high cellularity fibroblasts, macrophages and retinal pigment epithelial cells were found, which have previously been shown to play an important role in the development of PVR as they can transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts, which were seen in the more fibrotic areas.
UNASSIGNED: These findings support the theory that VCR have a role in PVR development, where VCR can act as a scaffold for fibrocellular proliferation. We suggest that the presence of VCR over the retinal surface should be qualified as a risk factor for PVR formation. Detection and adequate removal of VCR may improve the success rate of retinal detachment surgery.