[Prevention of scarring of filtering bleb by 5-fluorouracil]

Scarring of the filtering bleb is the most common cause of failure of surgery for glaucoma. It is much more common when the surgery is for certain types of glaucoma, such as aphakic glaucoma, cases of previously failed filtering surgery and neovascular and uveitic glaucoma. In 31 such high-risk cases we injected 5-fluorouracil subconjunctivally for 7-16 days after operation to prevent scarring of the filtering bleb. The success rate was 83%. After a follow-up of 3-12 months, there was statistically significant improvement in each group as compared to cases in which the drug was not administered. Further indications should be considered for the use of 5-fluorouracil in glaucoma.