Silicone Oil in Vitreoretinal Surgery

With this book, Dr. Zivojnovic presents to the ophthalmic community the long awaited detailed report of his surgical concepts and operative techniques in the field of vitreoretinal surgery. It is fascinating to read how his concepts for the treatment of complicated retinal detachments evolved from the intra­ ocular use of silicone oil to a combination of vitreous surgery with silicone oil tamponade. The next step was surgical treatment of the retina itself. It takes an unconventional mind to break major taboos and to state the retinotomies and retinectomies are necessary if scar tissue cannot be surgically removed and that buckling procedures are no longer necessary to treat retinal breaks. This book discusses the use of silicone oil in vitreoretinal surgery. Silicone oil tamponade has been proven to be a major step forward in vitreoretinal surgery and the reported results speak for themselves. The reader may have the impression that silicone is thought to be indispensible for almost all cases undergoing this type of surgery but this modality is used to treat severe cases where the chances of success are greatly enhanced by using silicone oil. Dr. Zivojnovic remains the forerunner and great surgeon who readily admits the limitations of his techniques: ‘The surgical operative treatment is only partly adequate and, unfortunately, despite the correctly performed operation, often does not lead to the desired result’.