I wish to express my gratitude to the experts in retinal and vitreous surgery who were generous enough to provide chapters for this book. The book aims to enable the retinal and vitreous surgeon to participate in the ongoing discussion regarding the best surgical technique for primary retinal detachment.The chapters of the book are written by experts in the field.Four separate chapters describe the four principle techniques available for repair of primary retinal detachment at the beginning of the twenty-first century.Attention is given to pharmaceutical interventions that might improve sur- cal outcome. Each of the four surgical techniques can be successful in the hands of an expert on the procedure.The difference lies in posto- rative morbidity,rate of reoperation and long-term visual function. Chapter 9 takes up the preceding chapters and presents an example of a primary three quadrant detachment with one break treated by each of the four surgical techniques. The reader is - vited to draw his or her own conclusion about which procedure is the better one and what to do and what not to do. The last chapter,subtitled “Outlook for the Future”,represents speculation about future developments in the field of retinal - tachment surgery.weiterlesen