Cryotherapy, also called cryopexy, is a means of freezing the retina where a retinal tear has occurred and or to surgically remove leaking retinal blood vessels. In this process, intense cold is used to induce a retinal scar around the lesion. The scar acts like a glue to heal the lesion in the retina. 

The process may be used to treat:

• Small retinal detachments

• Tumours

• Vascular lesions

• Different retinopathies
  
  Cryotherapy can be combined with pneumatic retinopexy to treat certain types of retinal detachments. This treatment is helpful in case of a vitreous haemorrhage or when a cataract blocks light from coming in.