[On the therapy of tractional retinal detachment without hole formation (author's transl)]

The authors describe 6 cases of tractional retinal detachment without hole formation--five as a result of intraocular metal splinter injuries and the sixth after scleral perforation following windshield injury which was overlooked. Splinter extraction was performed twice through the perforation and three times though the pars plana from the ouside. The time between the injury and appearance of the retinal detachment varied between four months and nine years. In every case there was a diffuse falt detachment without obvious tent formation. Reattachment was successful in five cases by release of the traction from the outside by cerclage with folding of the point of traction in the vitreous body and diathermy with drainage of the subretinal effusion. This method described gives relief only when vitreous strands traverse the whole bulbus crosswise. The follow-up period is up to the present three months to a year.