Proliferative vitreoretinopathy: developments in pathogenesis and treatment.

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy is an abnormal wound-healing response following retinal detachment and occurs in 5% to 10% of cases. It is now possible to treat this once-blinding condition. However, proliferative vitreoretinopathy still remains the most common cause of failure to reattach the retina. Recent work has helped to unravel the causes of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and new adjuvant treatments are being evaluated to improve the success rate of retinal reattachment surgery, both anatomically and functionally. At present, preventative treatment has only been found to work in high-risk cases. It is hoped that improvement in targeted immunosupression will eventually reduce the incidence of proliferative vitreoretinopathy. At the current time, the management of proliferative vitreoretinopathy still remains a surgical skill.