A prospective analysis of macular function in 266 retinal detachment patients has been made. All of the patients were reattached by using cryopexy, and an external sponge technique. No drainage was done in 90% of the cases. To correlate the preoperative detachment with the postoperative function, the area of detachment in the posterior pole was measured and divided into five groups on the basis of the extension of the detached retina in the area of the macula and around the disc. The validity of this presurgical grouping was tested by postsurgical evaluation of visual acuity, light-sensitivity threshold, and metamorphopsia. Visual acuity was tested over a period of 1 year. Recovery of macular function appears to be dependent upon (1) presurgical extension and elevation of the macular detachment; (2) it duration; (3) the age of the patient, and (4) the degree of myopia.