Submacular fibrosis after photocoagulation for diabetic macular edema

Ten eyes of nine patients developed submacular fibrotic scars without fluorescein angiographic evidence of choroidal neovascularization between two and 11 months (mean, 6.1 months) after argon laser treatment for diabetic macular edema. In four eyes, development of the subretinal scar was associated with visual acuity loss of two, two, four, and eight lines of Snellen visual acuity, respectively, within five to 11 months of laser treatment. At the final follow-up visit, the visual acuity of the eyes with two lines of visual acuity loss had returned to within one line of the initial value, but the visual acuity of the eyes with more severe initial visual acuity loss did not recover notably. In four eyes, fibrous submacular strands extended from macular laser scars, suggesting an iatrogenic role of the laser in inducing this complication.