Treatment of Coats' disease with the binocular indirect argon laser photocoagulator.

To the Editor. —The binocular indirect laser has been used in the treatment of various retinal disorders: photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, central retinal vein occlusion with rubeosis iridis, branch retinal vein occlusion with neovascularization, and proliferative sickle cell retinopathy. It has also been used for the prophylactic treatment of retinal tears1and in pneumatic repair of primary and secondary retinal detachments.2We have recently found this laser delivery system very useful in the treatment of young patients with Coats' disease. Coats' disease, or retinal telangiectasia with secondary subretinal exudate, is usually a unilateral condition that predominantly affects males. Coats' disease is often diagnosed in early childhood and may be more severe in patients under 4 years of age than in older patients. The natural history of this disease tends toward the development of a total retinal detachment; however, a few eyes may stabilize or regress without