Pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is a commonly employed technique in vitreoretinal surgery that enables access to the posterior segment for treating conditions such as retinal detachments, vitreous hemorrhage, endophthalmitis, and macular holes in a controlled, closed system.

Diabetic patients may experience two forms of retinopathy. One is called background, the other proliferative. Background retinopathy has changes in the retina that include swelling of the retina, or diabetic macular edema.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy may have growth of blood vessels, which can bleed in the eye, or pull on the retina and detach the retina.