Gollamudi S R, Smiddy W E, Schachat A P, Michels R G, Vitale S
Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Ophthalmology. 1991 Jan;98(1):18-22. doi: 10.1016/s0161-6420(91)32349-2.
The survival rate after vitreous surgery for complications of diabetic retinopathy was studied in 552 consecutive patients who underwent operations between 1979 and 1984. The 5-year postoperative survival rate was 74.7%. Factors associated with a lower survival rate included older age, older age at diagnosis of diabetes, history of renal disease, and a longer duration of diabetes. Factors unrelated to survival rate included insulin treatment, sex, and anatomic and visual outcome. Improved management of systemic diabetic complications has improved survival rates, a finding reflected in the relatively high rate of long-term survival after diabetic vitrectomy.
