Anterior retinal cryotherapy in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage

Recurrent vitreous hemorrhage associated with proliferative retinopathy can occur in eyes that do not satisfactorily respond to argon laser pantretinal photocoagulation. To evaluate the effect of relatively low-risk surgical intervention, we performed peripheral retinal cryopexy on 24 eyes of 23 diabetic patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage. In most cases, cryopexy followed complete or nearly complete panretinal photocoagulation which did not prevent subsequent vitreous hemorrhage. Existing vitreous hemorrhage cleared postoperatively in 23 of 24 eyes. The best corrected visual acuity improved in 15 eyes, remained unchanged in five, and worsened in four. Four postoperative anterior segment complications resolved completely within a short time. One patient, a 68-year-old woman who had had diabetes for 18 years, postoperatively had a macular hole in one eye and macular edema with tractional retinal detachment in the other.