Permeability of uveal vessels after experimental filtering surgery in rabbits

In adult albino rabbits, an opening wound was made in the central area of the cornea in one eye and the anterior chamber was made flat for 48 hours. Fluorescein-labeled dextran with a molecular weight of 70,000 was injected intravenously, and the uveal tissues were examined by fluorescence microscopy. A marked leakage of fluorescein-dextran was seen to occur from the vessels of the iris, ciliary body, anterior choroid and also even in the posterior choroid. The degree of leakage was similar during the period from 30 minutes to 48 hours after the surgery. In the fellow normal eyes, the leakage was minimal. In some eyes, the aqueous humor was aspirated and subsequently the anterior chamber was reformed spontaneously; the leakage of fluorescein-dextran determined 6 hours later was much less than after the filtering surgery. Some eyes were pretreated by topical 0.3% flurbiprofen solution or 0.3% indomethacin oil drop before the filtering surgery was performed. The pretreatment significantly reduced leakage of fluorescein-dextran from the uveal vessels, but the pretreatment with topical 0.1% betamethasone had only a slight effect.