[Supraciliochoroidal fluid at an early stage after trabeculectomy]

To examine the supraciliochoroidal fluid(SCF) by ultrasound biomicroscopy(UBM) at an early stage after trabeculectomy.

Fifteen eyes without post-operative complications were examined by UBM before the operation and less than 2 weeks after trabeculectomy with mitomycin C.

SCF was detected postoperatively in 6 eyes. One eye had choroidal detachment under indirect-ophthalmoscope and 5 eyes(33%) had SCF without choroidal detachment. The SCF in 4 eyes disappeared within 4 weeks after trabeculectomy. The intraocular pressure was 6.4 +/- 3.4 mmHg(mean +/- standard deviation) when SCF was detected and it rose to 13.2 +/- 7.2 mmHg when SCF disappeared. The intraocular pressure was 11.4 +/- 4.0 mmHg in the eyes without SCF, which was significantly higher than in the eyes with SCF.

At an early stage after trabeculectomy, SCF was detected by UBM in some cases without ophthalmoscopic choroidal detachment. Compared with the reported frequency of SCF after 3 or 6 months, our study revealed that SCF was present more frequently at an early stage after trabeculectomy. Our results may indicate that the presence of SCF is related to early low intraocular pressure and that disappearance of SCF induces the elevation of intraocular pressure.