Histopathologic evaluation of adhesive properties of early lesions in diathermy and cryopexy.

We examined the histopathologic appearance of both cryopexy and diathermy lesions, ten to 60 minutes after application in the rabbit retina. Both lesions showed immediate subretinal fluid accumulation. Thus we would not substantiate the speculation that a diathermy lesion might have greater immediate adhesive strength than a cryotherapy lesion. This explains the clinical experience that retina tends to slip with either modality when trying to treat giant retinal tears.