PANRETINAL VERSUS PERIPHERAL RETINAL LASER PHOTOCOAGULATION IN TREATMENT OF PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

Abstract

The problem of diabetic retinopathy:

Diabetic retinopathy, described by Duke -Elder as one of the major tragedies of Ophthalmology in our present generation, has become a public health problem of major importance by the mid-1960s.(l)

The incidence of diabetes throughout the world has been estimated to be from 1.5% to 5.0% of the population.<2

In Egypt, some surveys have been earned out to discover the incidence of diabetes i n the general population. Ghanem and Said in 1972 reported an incidence of 1.56% in Kom El-Decca area in Alexandria.(3) A more recent report by Arab in 1987 revealed a prevalence rate of diabetes of 4.18%.<4

The prevalence of diabetes has increased significantly over the past several decades due to variations in diagnosis and survey techniques, increased longevity of the diabetic patient, increased longevity of the general population and finally, a possible intrinsic change in the incidence of diabetes.(S)

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness in the industrial countries. In the United States, diabetes was found to account for 10% of all new cases of blindness and 20% ot new cases of blindness diagnosed

in patients between the ages of 45 and 74.(6

Diabetic retinopathy is

the most significant cause of blindness for the diabetic, accounting for more than 70% of blindness suffered among diabetics.(7