Epiretinal vs. subretinal implant in surgical treatment of retinitis pigmentosa – a review

The purpose of this review is to present the development of retinal chips in the surgical treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. The technological opportunities, surgical techniques and results in terms of vision in conceptually different subretinal and epiretinal implants are reported, as well as technological developments and expected future progress on the basis of published results from the R&D centers producing this type of chips. At this stage in the development of medicine, inserting a retinal implant is the only way to regain vision for patients with retinitis pigmentosa at the end stage of the disease. It is still difficult to determine which of the implant types gives better results in the long run and which among them might give rise to less undesirable side effects. The information available in the literature provides encouraging outcomes for vision’s recovery in patients with late-onset pigment retinitis.