Changes in choroidal area after intraocular pressure reduction following trabeculectomy

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Glaucoma Research
• Choroidal Imaging

Background:

• Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness.
• Trabeculectomy is a surgical procedure to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients.
• Understanding the impact of trabeculectomy on ocular structures beyond IOP reduction is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the changes in macular and peripapillary choroidal areas following trabeculectomy.
• To assess the effect of reduced intraocular pressure on choroidal vascularity.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, interventional study of 74 glaucoma patients.
• Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) used for imaging before and after surgery.
• Niblack method applied for quantitative analysis of luminal and interstitial areas.

Main Results:

• Trabeculectomy significantly reduced IOP from 17.6±6.3 mmHg to 6.5±2.9 mmHg (P < 0.001).
• Both macular and peripapillary choroidal areas showed significant increases post-surgery (P < 0.001).
• Increases were predominantly observed in the luminal areas of the choroid.

Conclusions:

• Reduced IOP after trabeculectomy leads to significant increases in macular and peripapillary choroidal areas.
• The observed choroidal area expansion is primarily attributed to increased luminal areas.
• Changes in peripapillary choroidal area were associated with decreased diastolic blood pressure and IOP.