Surgical removal of the vitreous gel (vitrectomy) is one of only two effective treatments for diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatment is the other. Vitrectomy does not cure the disease, but it may improve vision in people who have developed bleeding into the vitreous gel (vitreous hemorrhage), retinal detachment, or severe scar tissue formation.

Without either surgery or laser treatment, vision loss caused by diabetic retinopathy and its complications may progress until blindness occurs. Early treatment is therefore vital to slowing vision loss, which can happen quickly otherwise.

Unfortunately, by the time some people are diagnosed with retinopathy (especially late-stage retinopathy), it is often too late for vitrectomy or laser treatment to provide much benefit. Even with treatment, vision will continue to decline.

Early detection of retinopathy through yearly eye exams can help you decide to have surgery when it is most effective.

Surgery Choices

Vitrectomy is the surgical removal of the vitreous gel.

For more information about laser treatment (photocoagulation), see the Other Treatment section of this topic.

What To Think About

Vitreous surgery (vitrectomy) for diabetic retinopathy is effective in preventing vision loss when a person has bleeding into the vitreous gel (vitreous hemorrhage) or retinal detachment, but it is not a cure.⁷ This surgery is not usually done unless these complications or severe scar tissue has already developed.

After a person has had most of the vitreous gel removed by vitrectomy, surgery to remove scar tissue or to repair a new retinal detachment may be needed.

Vitrectomy is a more complicated procedure than laser treatment. It requires general anesthesia and, in some cases, an overnight hospital stay. Laser treatment is almost always an outpatient procedure.