Supraciliochoroidal fluid at an early stage after trabeculectomy

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

Trabeculectomy with mitomycin C was performed on 14 patients (15 eyes) with medically uncontrolled glaucoma. The ciliary bodies were observed using UBM testing, which was conducted preoperatively and within 2 weeks after the procedure.

SCF was detected postoperatively in 6 eyes. One eye also had choroidal detachment (CD), as seen with an indirect ophthalmoscope; and 5 eyes (33%) had SCF without intraocular inflammatory clinical signs, postoperative changes of the anterior chamber depth, or obvious CD. The SCF in 4 eyes disappeared within 4 weeks after the trabeculectomy. The intraocular pressure (IOP) was 6.4 +/- 3.4 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) when SCF was detected and it rose to 13.2 +/- 7.2 mm Hg when the SCF disappeared. The IOP was 11.4 +/- 4.0 mm Hg in the eyes without SCF, which was significantly higher than that seen in the eyes with SCF.

At an early stage after trabeculectomy, SCF without subclinical CD was detected in some cases by UBM. 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 the early low IOP after trabeculectomy and that the disappearance of SCF induces the elevation of IOP.