Silicone Oil in the Treatment of Complicated Retinal Detachments

Silicone oil was introduced into ophthalmic surgery by Paul Cibis in the early 1960's in an attempt to treat giant retinal tears and cases where retinal detachment had failed to respond to conventional scleral buckling tech­ niques. His understanding of the nature of vitreous pathology and how it related to complex retinal detachment laid the foundation for modern vit­ reoretinal surgery. Cibis's success with these problems together with his rationale for sepa­ rating membranes from the retin