The treatment of vitreoretinal scar tissue

Methods of treating vitreoretinal scarring have been transformed by the introduction and development of closed intraocular microsurgery. Controlled access to the posterior segment of the eye, under excellent conditions for intraoperative viewing, have increased our understanding of the pathophysiology of epiretinal membranes. The ready ability to harvest tissue specimens for histopathological and immunochemical study, enabled by this type of surgery, has provided the stimulus for much basic research into the nature of fibrocellular (and fibrovascular) proliferative disease. Treatment of retinal conditions characterised by the proliferation of fibrocellular membranes has been improved, but the most important future advances are likely to be made in the fields of molecular biology and pharmacology.