In this review regarding the surgical correction of retinal separation certain factors are considered which must be of etiologic importance, judging from the successes and failures resulting from present day operations. They are presented without any attempt at correlation save their apparent pertinence. It is even impossible to estimate the relative importance of some of these various factors, one as compared with the other. The only certainty is that all are relevant.
HISTORY
The modern treatment of separation of the retina is perhaps the outstanding single advance in ophthalmology within the present generation. Even this period, relatively short as it is, is definitely narrowed, in that the earliest article which initiated the recent research (and the tremendous strides which have been achieved) is that by Verhoeff1 in 1917. From this time until Larsson's2 work in 1928 and in 1930, Vogt's3 in 1929, Sourdille's4