Vitreous Surgery for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy can cause visual loss by various mechanisms including complications from neovascular and fibrovascular tissue growth causing vitreous hemorrhage, detachment or distortion of the retina, and/or traction on the optic nerve. Extraretinal complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy often cause severe visual loss, and these complications can now be successfully treated by vitreous surgery in the majority of cases. The principles and techniques of surgery, as well as the visual results and lasting structural effects, depend on the unique pathophysiology of the extraretinal proliferative process.