Our Experience with Treatment of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy with anArgon Laser

Overview

The authors evaluate the results of treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathyby panretinal photocoagulation with an argon laser in a group of 122 eyes, 89patients, with a mean follow-up period of 4.7 years. They achieved completeregression of revascularization of 69 % eyes, partial regression in 21 % eyes. In10% eyes they treatment failed. The resulting visual acuity was 6/12 and better in41% eyes, a visual acuity worse than 6/60 was recorded in 11 % eyes. It remainedunaltered in 70 % eyes, deteriorated in 19 %. The authors evaluated the successrate of laser photocoagulation in relation to the stage and site of neovascularizations. They found that the poorest reaction to panretinal photocoagulation isobtained in advanced neovascularization of the disc andthey remind of the knownview that advanced neovascularizations display a certain grade of autonomywhich is the cause of a poorer response to panretinal photcogaulation. Theyconfirm former observations that if signs of regression of neovascularizationdevelop early, within 3-6 weeks after the onset of laser photocoagulation this maybe considered a prognostically favourable sign.

Key words:
proliferative diabetic retinopathy, laser photocoagulation