[Surgery for macular edema].

At the end of the nineteenth century, "macular edema" had already been recognized as a pathological condition. The main causes for macular edema are vascular, inflammatory, degenerative, and congenital diseases or trauma. The therapeutic approaches have changed along with the increasing knowledge on the underlying causes of action during the last few years and include laser treatment as well as surgical interventions. Pars plana vitrectomy (including ILM peeling) seems beneficial in cases of macular edema that are associated with alterations of the vitreous or the vitreoretinal interface. For the treatment of chronic macular edema, intravitreal application of agents such as triamcinolone has become an option.