Drainage of subretinal fluid was performed in 84% of a consecutive series of 662 scleral buckling procedures. Complications of drainage occurred in 5.6% of cases, and the ultimate anatomical success rate in the series was 94.2%. Ninety-seven percent of failures were due to massive PVR, but this process was not associated with complications of surgery. Although drainage of subretinal fluid is a potentially hazardous maneuver, complications of this procedure are an uncommon cause of anatomical failure in retinal detachment surgery.