Trabeculectomy with long-term-stored mitomycin C in West Indian population

We investigated the outcome of trabeculectomy with stored mitomycin C (MMC) in a black Caribbean population on the island of Dominica. Ten eyes (9 patients) underwent trabeculectomy with MMC (0.5 mg/ml for 3-6 min) that had been stored for up to 17 months at 4 degrees C. The preoperative intraocular pressure of (mean +/- SD) 32.8+/-7.5 mm Hg on 2.6 medications decreased to 9.5+/-3.2 mm Hg on 0.2 medications after a mean follow-up time of 14.2 months (range 7-25). Nine eyes did not receive medications postoperatively. Complications observed included bleb infection (1 eye) and late bleb leak (1 eye); 2 eyes developed cataract. Nine blebs had typical clinical features of blebs after trabeculectomy with adjunctive MMC. We conclude that long-term-stored MMC may be beneficial as adjunctive treatment in initial trabeculectomy in this population.