{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T18:12:10Z","timestamp":1778695930412,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"BMJ","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Br J Ophthalmol"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Prophylactic treatment of lattice degeneration with laser photocoagulation remains controversial. We evaluated whether prophylactic laser for lattice degeneration increases epiretinal membrane (ERM) risk. In a retrospective cohort (2005\u20132025), patients receiving laser within 90 days of lattice diagnosis were classified as exposed; untreated patients served as controls and were matched 3:1. ERM within 10 years was analysed using Fine\u2013Gray competing-risk models (death as competing event). ERM occurred in 38\/321 (11.8%) laser-treated versus 53\/944 (5.6%) untreated patients (sHR=2.50, 95%\u2009CI 1.65 to 3.79; p&lt;0.001). Prophylactic laser was associated with higher ERM risk, warranting careful consideration of its risk\u2013benefit profile.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bjo-2026-329722","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T17:20:33Z","timestamp":1778692833000},"page":"bjo-2026-329722","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Epiretinal membrane formation risk after prophylactic laser photocoagulation for lattice degeneration: a retrospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0529-2845","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Anna","family":"Bantounou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"},{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marta","family":"Stevanovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"},{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Demetrios G","family":"Vavvas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Mass Eye and Ear, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"},{"name":"Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.1","article-title":"Interventions for asymptomatic retinal breaks and lattice degeneration for preventing retinal detachment","volume":"2014","author":"Wilkinson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4011","DOI":"10.2147\/OPTH.S537281","article-title":"Can Laser Retinopexy Prevent Retinal Detachment in Asymptomatic, High-Risk Eyes?","volume":"19","author":"Morris","year":"2025","journal-title":"Clin Ophthalmol"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2768","DOI":"10.1038\/s41433-025-03945-5","article-title":"Epiretinal membrane formation following laser photocoagulation for peripheral retinal degeneration: incidence and risk factors","volume":"39","author":"Xie","year":"2025","journal-title":"Eye (Lond)"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0161-6420(02)01443-4"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2023.1121270","article-title":"Pathophysiology and clinical aspects of epiretinal membrane - review","volume":"10","author":"O\u017c\u00f3g","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Med (Lausanne)"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jclinepi.2007.11.008"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1478","DOI":"10.1097\/IAE.0000000000002202","article-title":"Clinical characteristics, long-term surgical outcomes, and prognostic factors of epiretinal membrane in young patients","volume":"39","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Retina (Philadelphia, Pa)"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2016-014644","article-title":"Prevalence and risk factors of epiretinal membranes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based studies","volume":"7","author":"Xiao","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"2026051310201733000_bjo-2026-329722v1.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1016\/j.survophthal.2025.08.002","article-title":"Laser-induced histopathological changes to the retina: A review","volume":"71","author":"Gowda","year":"2026","journal-title":"Surv Ophthalmol"}],"container-title":["British Journal of Ophthalmology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bjo-2026-329722","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T17:20:34Z","timestamp":1778692834000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bjo.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bjo-2026-329722"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]},"references-count":9,"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bjo-2026-329722"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bjo-2026-329722","relation":{},"ISSN":["0007-1161","1468-2079"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0007-1161","type":"print"},{"value":"1468-2079","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]]}}}