Six hundred forty-three patients had retinal detachment surgery during 81/2 years; 17.6% were under the age of 30 years. Analysis of this group of patients showed that males were more commonly affected than females (68%). Trauma was the most frequent cause, reported in 40% of cases. Dialysis was the commonest retinal break, occurring in 51% of patients, and 73% of these occurred in the inferior temporal quadrant. In patients with a history of trauma, the type of the retinal break produced and operative success was related to the severity of ocular damage, with more successful outcomes in nontraumatic cases and fewer of these in cases of ocular perforation.