Retinal detachment is an uncommon disease, affecting approximately 1 in 10,000 people in the general population per year. However, the incidence of retinal breaks is relatively high, affecting 5% to 7% of the population. Obviously, many retinal breaks have minimal, if any, risk for the possible development of a retinal detachment. This includes macular holes that occur as a degenerative process, and asymptomatic, small, round atrophic holes near the ora serrata. However, equatorial horseshoe tears with relevant symptoms progress to retinal detachment in most cases. Probably all surgeons would agree that a large horseshoe tear near the equator in the superior temporal quadrant, with new-onset symptoms of fl ashes and fl oaters and associated vitreous hemorrhage, should be treated prophylactically to avoid retinal detachment. In contrast, most would not advise treatment of a small, round atrophic hole near the inferior ora serrata in an asymptomatic patient with no history of prior detachment. Between these two obvious examples lies a broad spectrum of retinal breaks for which the surgeon must exercise judgment about instituting prophylactic treatment. Most of the breaks reported in surveys of asymptomatic patients or in autopsy series are of the atrophic type, and only a small proportion are horseshoe tears. Although there are no specific rules for the selection of patients for treatment, and each case has to be judged on its own characteristics, the application of evidencebased medicine to this topic has modified the opinions of many regarding the genuine value of prophylactic therapy for most retinal breaks. The American Academy of Ophthalmology has used this approach in developing a Preferred Practice Pattern (PPP) entitled “Posterior Vitreous Detachment, Retinal Breaks, and Lattice Degeneration,” the latest version of which was published in 2008. The evidence base described in this PPP will be employed in the following discussion. Characteristics associated with a relatively high risk of retinal detachment in an eye with visible retinal breaks are listed in Table 6–1. Symptoms and signs of PVD place an eye at particularly high risk. Additional factors include a variety of hereditary, congenital, acquired, and iatrogenic problems.