More than 90 years have elapsed in the history of surgical treatment for primary retinal detachment.Although the anatomical reattachment rate can reach more than 90％ after surgery,visual function is still far from satisfactory.What happens after reattachment following retinal detachment? Animal models have shown that a series of cytological changes occur mainly in the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors and their junctures.And a relatively long period of tine is required for the remodeling of structure and function.The rupture of the inner segment and outer segment junctures (IS/OS junctures) of the photoreceptors and the external limiting membrane (ELM) and micro-pathologic changes in the maculae were recently found with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and these were responsible for poor visual outcomes.There is still a debate on the effects of the surgical modality on visual outcomes.Therefore,more attention should be paid to visual recovery after retinal reattachment surgery and basic and clinical research can be carried out to solve the problem.