Sequential changes in intraocular pressure during strabismus surgery in patients with thyroid eye disease

To investigate the sequential change in intraocular pressure (IOP) during strabismus surgery in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED).

This prospective study included patients with TED who underwent strabismus surgery (medial rectus [MR], inferior rectus [IR], and superior rectus [SR] recession) between March 2018 and December 2020. The IOP was measured six times during surgery (5 min after intubation, after isolation of the muscle using a hook and dissection of the surrounding tissue, immediately before muscle detachment, immediately after muscle detachment, after reattachment of the muscle, and after closure of the conjunctiva).

Thirty-five eyes of 18 patients were included. The mean IOP at first was 21.1 mmHg, which significantly increased to 28.6 mmHg after muscle isolation. The IOP significantly decreased to 15.5 mmHg after muscle detachment. This increased to 19.1 mmHg after muscle reattachment. The last IOP was 18.9 mmHg. There were similar patterns of sequential change in the IOP among the three muscles. The MR showed the highest increase in IOP. The IR showed the lowest mean IOP compared with the other two muscles.

The IOP was elevated during the isolation and dissection of the surrounding muscle tissue, especially in the MR. The IOP significantly decreased after muscle detachment and was maintained until the last measurement, even after muscle reattachment. IR showed the lowest IOP among the three muscles during surgery.