Continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement during glaucoma drainage device implantation

Purpose: To measure the effect of the implantation of a glaucoma drainage device on the intraocular pressure (IOP) during the implantation surgery. Method: We implanted telemetry devices into 1 eye each of 3 white New Zealand rabbits. Once the telemetry was found to be working and the rabbits had fully recovered from surgery, we implanted a glaucoma drainage device into the same eye while continually monitoring the IOP with the telemetry devices. Results: During surgery IOP was extremely variable, however, extremely high pressures were recorded in association with suturing and viscoelastic injection. Discussion: The fact that pressures are significantly raised during some surgical events should make surgeons aware that manipulations need to be kept as short as possible to prevent further potential damage to glaucomatous optic nerves. There is a possibility of dramatically raising the IOP during surgery, specifically in complicated cases requiring prolonged manipulation and/or forcible deepening of the anterior chamber. In such cases, it may be a good idea to time the duration of manipulations to prevent prolonged episodes of elevated IOP.