Neovascular glaucoma following pars plana vitrectomy for complications of diabetic retinopathy

The patient charts of 81 consecutive vitrectomies performed for complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy were reviewed. Sixty-five preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were analyzed. In eyes with completed panretinal photocoagulation, only postoperative retinal detachment had a statistically significant correlation with postvitrectomy development of neovascular glaucoma. Eighty-three percent of eyes with detached retinas, as compared with 4% of eyes with attached retinas, developed neovascular glaucoma (P less than .00001). Aphakia alone did not have a statistically significant effect on the development of neovascular glaucoma; however in the presence of retinal detachment the incidence was very high (92%). Our study shows that a completely attached retina and aggressive panretinal photocoagulation are of paramount importance in decreasing the risk of neovascular glaucoma following vitrectomy for complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy.