Enormous developments have been made in ophthalmology during the last century. Higher precision and newer instrumentation in surgery as well as better examination methods and progress in microbiology have given us access to much more information about the pathological physiology and anatomy that we are confronted with in our various fields of expertise. As we have approached a new millennium we decided to capture some of these new ideas and incorporate them into a conference where we could share our work and benefit from each others' experiences. This book is based on contributions nd presented at the "2 International Conference on Vitreoretinal Diseases" which was held in September 2002 in Vienna, Austria which focused on the retinal macula. The meeting was very fortunate to have the world's most renowned leaders in macular research attend and share their vast experience and expertise as well as their latest research and results. This meeting followed the "First International Conference on Vitreoretinal Diseases" which was held in Vienna, Austria in 1998, and focused on retinal transplantation and retinal microsurgery. nd After the great success of the "2 International Conference on Vitreoretinal Diseases" an overwhelming interest was expressed to gather all these new and innovative ideas that had been developed in a book in order to give colleagues and students access to a valu­ able collection of the information presented at the meeting. This international meeting was administrated by, Mrs. Tilly and Mr.