A diabetic patient is at greatest risk of developing which of the following type of retinal detachment?
High-Yield Explanation
Traction retinal detachment is most commonly caused due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy. This traction is due to formation of vitreal, epiretinal, or subretinal membranes consisting of fibroblasts and glial and retinal pigment epithelial cells. The tractional forces formed actively pull the sensory retina away from the underlying pigment epithelium toward the vitreous base. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is the most common type of retinal detachment. It is characterized by a full-thickness break in the sensory retina, variable degrees of vitreous traction, and passage of liquefied vitreous through the break into the subretinal space. Ref: Fletcher E.C., Chong N., Augsburger J.J., Correa Z.M. (2011). Chapter 10. Retina. In P. Riordan-Eva, E.T. Cunningham, Jr. (Eds), Vaughan & Asbury's General Ophthalmology, 18e.