Macular Pucker
Macular Pucker The macula is the center-part of the retina that provides the best vision needed for reading and fine detail. Sometimes, scar tissue forms over the macula and causes wrinkling in the macula. These wrinkles cause both distortion and blurriness of the vision. We call this scar tissue an epiretinal membrane. We call the wrinkling effect macular pucker. When this macular pucker distorts the vision enough to bother the patient, we can offer a surgery (called a vitrectomy and membrane peel) to peel off the scar tissue and relieve the wrinkling. This often improves the vision and relieves the distortion. The scar tissue can grow back, but this does not happen very often. Statistically, most patients recover half of their vision after this surgery. As with all surgeries - the risks, benefits, and alternatives must always be considered.