Forty years' experience with a special, non-tumorous application of radiotherapy for the eye

This paper recapitulates experience made over 40 years with a special nontumorous radiotherapy for the eye. Following a review of the development of therapy, which began with the pendular convergence x-ray machine and later changed to the linear accelerator, an overview is presented of the most important indications for the safe use of x-rays in exudative inflammatory processes in the posterior segment of the eye. We show that in many cases radiotherapy can achieve a permanent improvement for years or at least the preservation of the status quo, while also protecting the important visual cells, especially if it is administered at the earliest possible stage alone. However, it is even more effective in combination with retrobulbar injection therapy that is adjusted individually. Statistics on the results in cases of disciform macular degeneration, doubtlessly the most frequent indication for non-tumorous radiotherapy in the eye, exemplify its efficacy.