Natural history of peripheral neovascularisation in diabetic retinopathy.

A study of 62 untreated eyes of 54 diabetic patients with peripheral neovascularisation is reported. The study shows that neovascularisation rarely remains confined to one sector of the retina; 18% of eyes had developed disc new vessels within one year, 27% had a vitreous haemorrhage within five years, and 10% developed either macular traction or a retinal detachment.