In reply
Drs Flynn and Meredith touch on many important issues, some of which are addressed in our response to the letters of Drs Baker and Durand and Haimann et al. We elaborate in those responses on how the EVS shows systemic antibiotics were not of value in treating acute postcataract extraction endophthalmitis.Drs Flynn and Meredith bring up other issues. They state that the EVS shows no harmful effect of pars plana vitrectomy, and also point out the beneficial effects that are shown in the vitrectomy group. While true, the latter statement taken alone may be misleading. It is important for readers of the EVS main outcome article1 to recognize that the beneficial effects that occurred in the vitrectomy group were owing to the effect in the subset of patients with light perception—only vision when first seen. No benefit of vitrectomy was seen in patients who had better