Surgical treatment for diabetic macular edema

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the most common cause for vision loss in diabetic patients, and its management is often a long process requiring frequent monitoring and therapeutic interventions. Although treatment of DME is primarily medical, surgical treatment has also been used over the last decades, mostly for chronic persistent cases that did not improve adequately in response to prior medical therapies. Areas covered: A thorough literature search was conducted, focused on studies of surgical interventions in patients with DME. This review discusses the epidemiology and mechanisms of pathogenesis of DME, the evolution of treatment modalities, and the past and recent literature on surgery for DME, focusing on the evolution of its techniques and outcomes. Expert commentary: Improved results have been achieved with vitrectomy for DME in recent years, and it is possible that these will lead to an increase in the role of surgical treatment for DME.