Prophylactic therapy of retinal breaks.

Prophylaxis of selected retinal breaks is effective in preventing detachment. Most retinal breaks, however, will not cause detachment and can be safely followed without treatment. This paper reviews the evidence for and against prophylactic treatment of commonly encountered retinal breaks in an effort to arrive at typological guidelines for treatment. Education of patients with high risk of detachment is probably of equal value to cryotherapy or photocoagulation in preserving visual acuity.