Does Scleral Buckling Still Have A Role? Address for Correspondance: Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly

Before the turn of the twentieth century, eyes with retinal detachment (RD) were considered doomed. Contrary to other branches of ophthalmology, such as cataract extraction, the surgical treatment of retinal detachment was still in its infancy, and surgical success rates were less than five percent. From 1902 to 1921,Jules Gonin1 almost single handedly changed the landscape of retinal detachment surgery forever. He recognised that retinal break was the cause and not the consequence as it was largely believed at that time. He named the procedure ‘Ignipuncture’2, as he cauterized the retina through the sclera with a very hot pointed instrument.