Intraocular pressure after cataract surgery with Healon

We studied the intraocular pressure (IOP) following extracapsular cataract extraction and posterior chamber lens implantation in 75 cases. Sodium hyaluronate (Healon) was used in all cases. In 40 cases, Healon was left in the eyes; in 35, the eyes were irrigated to remove Healon from the anterior chamber. When Healon was left in the eyes, 35% had an IOP increase of greater than or equal to 20 mm Hg during the initial ten hours, compared to 11% of the group in which Healon was irrigated out. Twenty hours after surgery, the irrigated eyes had an average lower IOP than the nonirrigated eyes, 15.6 mm Hg versus 23.8 mm Hg.