• rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
• scleral buckling
• primary vitrectomy
• pneumatic retinopexy

Up until about 20 years ago, the majority of retinal detachments were operated on by general ophthalmologists and the only technique available was scleral buckling combined where appropriate with subretinal fluid drainage and air tamponade. Now specialist vitreoretinal surgeons perform most of the surgery and have a much greater variety of surgical techniques to choose from. The three views presented here define the available options and their indications as seen by proponents of each technique. The results of scleral buckling without drainage of 91% after one operation and 97% after one further procedure are very impressive and the key to their success is the time consuming and painstaking preoperative examination. I suspect that there are few other groups who would not be tempted to embark on more complicated …