In most cases, the primary benefit of photocoagulation is prevention of blindness. Though not a cure for diabetic retinopathy, this procedure has helped many patients delay or diminish the eye damage caused by diabetes.

Because photocoagulation burns part of the retina, many patients will experience some permanent loss of vision, including:

• Mild loss of central vision (after focal laser)
• Reduced or impaired night vision (after pan-retinal)
• Reduced peripheral vision (after pan-retinal)

All surgical procedures carry some risk. There are several rare complications of photocoagulation that may result in severe vision loss, including:

• Vitreous hemorrhage. A condition in which blood leaking from the new blood vessels enters the vitreous humor (the transparent gel that fills the center of the eye between the lens and the retina).
  
  
• Accidental burn of the fovea (a depression located in the central macula that does not house any blood vessels).

It is important to recognize that the vision loss associated with photocoagulation treatments is mild in comparison to the vision loss that can occur if diabetic retinopathy is left untreated.