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Primary pars plana vitrectomy (PPPV) has gained widespread popularity in the treatment of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD). However, the surgical procedure is still flawed by a significant rate of anatomical and functional failures. The study was conducted to analyse the risk factors for a dissatisfying postoperative outcome.We carried out a retrospective study of 512 cases of PPPV with a minimum follow-up of 3 months from one institution over a 9-year period. Preoperatively, 24.8% of patients (127 out of 512) were pseudophakic, 16.4% (84 out of 512) highly myopic, 19.9% (102 out of 512) had preoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and 14.6% (75 out of 512) had vitreous haemorrhage.The follow-up period ranged from 3 to 108 months (median 14.8). Retinal reattachment was achieved with one operation in 70.7% (362 out of 512) and after one or more operations in 97.5% of cases (499 out of 512). The major reasons for redetachments were new retinal breaks, followed by a combination of new breaks and PVR, and PVR without apparent breaks. Postoperative visual acuities ofor =0.1 andor =0.4 were achieved in 82.8% (424 out of 512) and 48.2% (247 out of 512) respectively. Out of 376 phakic patients at study entry, 66.4% (250 out of 376) underwent cataract surgery either in combination with PPPV or during the postoperative course. Factors that were significantly associated with either anatomical or functional failure included duration of symptoms, low preoperative visual acuity, myopia, amblyopia, hypotony, macular detachment, preoperative PVR, extent of detachment, involvement of inferior quadrants, no detectable breaks, large breaks, breaks posterior to the equator, surgeon, level of surgical training, endocryotherapy, and combined scleral buckling surgery.Primary pars plana vitrectomy is still flawed by a relatively high primary redetachment rate following the initial procedure. The advantages of the technique are a high final reattachment rate and relatively good functional results in a subset of patients with more complicated types of RRD. The risk factors for postoperative failures following PPPV for RRD match to a large extent those following scleral buckling surgery (SBS). Future improvements of the technique will have to focus on modifiable risk factors, such as details of the surgical procedures, surgical training and case selection, to distinguish it from SBS.

Mandatory screening performed by an experience ophthalmologist remains the most important pillar in the management of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). The current gold standard for treatment of proliferative ROP is still panretinal laser photocoagulation, depending on severity, in combination with vitreoretinal surgery if necessary. The first case series of off-label intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment are encouraging. In addition to intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy, other treatment concepts such as supplementation with IGF-1 or omega-3 fatty acids also represent interesting pharmacological approaches to the management of ROP. However, larger controlled trials are required to validate the benefits and safety of these systemic treatment approaches.

This review highlights recent advances in clinical research on the therapy for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This disease is still important, because improvements in neonatal intensive care during the last years have increased the survival of the most immature newborns, but have not diminished the ROP frequency. Laser treatment at the optimal time for advanced ROP mostly prevents blindness. This paper describes the classification, current German screening criteria and the modern concept of ROP pathophysiology. The therapeutic treatment strategies and the treatment results, as well the possible promising future therapy with anti-VEGF (bevacizumab) is discussed.

These revised guidelines replace the previous guidelines on the screening of preterm infants for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that were published in 1999. Recently published research provided the impetus for this revision. These guidelines propose the following criteria for an efficient screening programme for the early detection and treatment of ROP in Germany: Inclusion criteria for ROP screening: All preterm infants with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks (if gestational age is unknown; of1500 g birth weight) should be examined. In addition, all preterm infants with 32-36 weeks gestational age are included if postnatal oxygen was supplemented for more than 3 days. The first examination should be performed within the 5(th) week of postnatal age (day 36-42), but not prior to 31 weeks gestational age. Indications for laser photocoagulation: in Zone I: 1. any stage with "plus disease", 2. stage 3 without "plus disease." In Zone II: stage 3 with extraretinal proliferations in 5 continuous or 8 cumulative clock hours in combination with "plus-disease". In certain cases an earlier treatment may be indicated.

The aim of this study was to analyse the results of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening, stage of disease and time of treatment from one tertiary care centre.Between 1991 and 2001, 666 infants with a gestational age (GA)33 weeks or birth weight (BW) less than1501 g were examined. Coagulation treatment was performed in accordance with the Cryo-ROP study, after reaching the threshold. All infants were followed-up until a stable retinal situation was reached.Mean GA of the 666 infants was 28.5 +/- 2.3 weeks. Mean BW was 1180 +/- 372 g. During the years of screening, the GA and BW significantly decreased, but no significant change in the yearly incidence of ROP was detected. 460 (69.1 %) of the infants did not develop any stage of ROP. Maximum stage of ROP in the worse eye was stage one in 51 (7.6 %) infants, stage two in 59 (8.9 %) infants and stage three below threshold in 62 (9.3 %) infants. 34 (5.1 %) infants were treated with coagulation treatment. Mean time of treatment was 36.5 weeks postmenstrual age, or 10.7 weeks postnatal age. Postnatal age showed a better correlation to treatment time than postmenstrual age. No infant was treated before seven weeks of life and not before 32 weeks postmenstrual age.In spite of the increasing survival of children with lower GA and BW the incidence of ROP has not increased, and the incidence of ROP in our centre appears to be comparable to other international studies. In contrast to the Cryo-ROP study, treatment time correlates better to postnatal age than to postmenstrual age. All infants who underwent treatment were detected at an appropriate time using German screening guidelines.

To analyze and compare the anatomical and functional outcome following cryotherapy or laser therapy for ROP.Between April 1991 and February 2002, 127 eyes with ROP (65 patients) were treated after threshold ROP was reached. Ten additional eyes with zone I disease were treated with prethreshold. All patients were followed up until a stable retinal situation occurred.An "unfavorable outcome," as described in the Cryo ROP study, occurred in 1 of 91 (1%) eyes with laser treatment and in 3 of 46 (6.5%) eyes with cryotherapy. Temporal dragging of vessels was noticed in 6 of 91 eyes (6.6%) with laser treatment vs 7 of 46 eyes (15.2%) with cryotherapy, respectively. Visual acuityor =20/25 was achieved in 39.2% in eyes with laser therapy and in 17.6% with cryotherapy (p0.05).A strict screening protocol and treatment at onset of threshold disease results in an excellent anatomical and functional outcome. The results of laser therapy were superior over cryotherapy, indicating that laser treatment is the therapy of choice.

Surgical extraction has been suggested as a treatment of choroidal neovascular membranes. We demonstrate the long-term results of our patients regarding complications, risk of recurrence and development of visual acuity. We have retrospectively evaluated the charts and re-examined the patients who underwent surgical extraction of choroidal neovascular membranes (CNV) because of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) between March 1994 and December 2000 in the Department of Ophthalmology of the Benjamin Franklin Clinic, Berlin. Fifty-two eyes of 49 patients with a minimum follow-up of 12 months after pars plana vitrectomy with CNV extraction and SF6-endotamponade were included. Initially, in 15% of all eyes the lesions were obscured by intravitreal haemorrhage. All visible lesions were located subfoveally. In 40% of all eyes the lesion was predominantly classic; 21% of the lesions were predominantly occult and 23% of the lesions were comprised of more than 50% haemorrhage. The maximum follow-up was 80 months, the mean 46 months. The median initial visual acuity was 0.08 (range: hand movements to 0.4) and the median final visual acuity was not significantly different at 0.067 (range: non lux to 0.4). A loss of less than three lines of visual acuity occurred in 65.4% of our patients. During follow-up, 25% of eyes developed a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and 19.2% of all eyes suffered from recurrence of CNV. At the end of the follow-up, three eyes (5.8%) suffered from non-treated retinal detachment and three eyes (5.8%) had recurrent CNV lesions. All eyes showed a retinal pigment epithelium defect at the site of former CNV. A stabilisation of visual acuity in individual patients with CNV because of AMD can be achieved by surgical extraction, yet the defect of the RPE and the risk of complications limit the benefit. We consider the surgical extraction of CNV from AMD in patients with low initial visual acuity who are not amenable to PDT.

A case of diffuse mesangial sclerosis (DMS) associated with a number of undescribed congenital anomalies is reported. The occurrence of additional anomalies, especially ocular anomalies, is a common finding in DMS. However, neither megalocornea, Dandy-Walker malformation, postaxial hexadactyly, rocker-bottom feet, nor atrial septal defect, as observed in our patient, has been reported previously in association with DMS. This case might be considered an atypical manifestation of the Galloway-Mowat syndrome. In contrast to most cases of DMS, the patient revealed intrauterine proteinuria as the placenta was enlarged to 31% of birth weight. This case demonstrates that the large placenta,25% of birth weight, is not only pathognomonic of the congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type but can also occur in DMS.

Septo-optic dysplasia (or de Morsier syndrome) is a congenital disorder characterised by anomalies in cerebral midline structures, optic nerve hypoplasia, and hormonal deficiencies. Diagnosis should be made early, due to the possibility of treating the hormonal disturbances. We describe here a case with decreased visual acuity, one-sided hemianopia, nystagmus und agenesis of the septum pellucidum and discuss the heterogeneous appearance of this syndrome. There are two theories regarding its pathogenesis. The first postulates simultaneous damage to both cerebral structures and optic nerve development around the 6th week of gestation, while the other favours secondary degeneration of optic nerve fibres due to a cerebral lesion.

Evaluation of different and partially contradictory guidelines for screening for retinopathy of prematurity published in Germany.The data on 1219 preterm infants examined in Bern (n = 900) and Berlin (n = 319) were analyzed. A total of 680 preterm infants (56%) had a birth weight below 1500 g. The remaining infants were examined because oxygen had to be supplied or surgery done before or around the estimated delivery time.Stage 3 retinopathy was found in 88/1219 (7.2%) preterm infants. Only 5/88 infants weighed more than 1500 g at birth. Three of these infants had a birth weight below 2000 g and needed supplemental oxygen for a prolonged period of time. The other 2 infants had birth weights of more than 2000 g and were severely ill. Of 1219 preterm infants, 37 (3%) developed threshold retinopathy (according to the criteria of the multicenter trial); 35/37 infants weighed less than 1230 g at birth. The remaining 2 children (1650 g and 2185 g birth weight) were severely ill.Preterm infants should be screened for retinopathy of prematurity: (1) if the birth weight is below 1500 g; (2) if the birth weight is below 2000 g and oxygen supply was necessary for more than 30 days; (3) if infants are very sick or must undergo multiple surgery before term. The first examination should be scheduled for the 6th week postnatal and not before 31 weeks postmenstrual age.

In a consecutive series, 209 preterm infants with birth weights below 1501 g or a gestational age ofor = 32 weeks were observed. Stage 3 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) developed in 48 infants (23%) of between 32 and 46 weeks postconceptional age (PCA; mean, 37 weeks). Stage 3 ROP was not seen before 6 weeks after birth. Threshold ROP was seen and treated at between 34 and 42 weeks PCA (mean, 38 weeks PCA; n = 22, 10.5%). A subgroup of 126 untreated infants were followed until complete retinal vascularisation. At estimated term, 38.7% of eyes with vessels ending in zone 3 at the first examination showed complete vascularisation as compared with 17.6% of eyes with vessels ending in peripheral zone 2 and none of those with vessels ending in central zone 2. Occurrence of ROP delayed retinal development. At estimated term, no eye with any stage of ROP showed complete vascularisation as compared with 35.4% of eyes without ROP. Regression of stage 3 ROP below threshold started in all cases before 56 weeks PCA.

We analyzed retrospectively 239 consecutive patients who had undergone reoperation for repeat retinal detachment; 441 repeat operations were performed. The average follow-up was 2.1 years, and on average we noted 1.8 retinal redetachments per patient. At the last follow-up examination in 173 eyes (72.4%), the retina was reattached; 10.5% of the eyes had a partially detached retina and in 15.9% the retina was again completely detached. Enucleation was necessary in 3 eyes (1.2%). Visual improvement occurred in 45% of the eyes with reattachment of the retina. When the first retinal detachment occurred, 74 eyes were aphakic. Compared to the other 165 eyes there was no difference in anatomic or visual outcome. Aphakic eyes needed fewer additional reoperations (39%) compared to the phakic group (50%, p less than 0.01). One important reason for the surgery being unsuccessful was poor placement of the scleral buckle. In both groups equatorial placement of the scleral buckle led to anatomical success in more than 50%. The eyes in the aphakic group required more vitrectomies (47%) compared to the phakic eyes (34%, p less than 0.01).