A releasable scleral-flap tamponade suture for guarded filtration surgery
M. A. Johnstone, D. P. Wellington and C. J. Ziel
Department of Ophthalmology, Swedish Hospital Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98104.
Postoperative complications of filtering surgery are generally associated
with overfiltration. We describe a technique that employs an externalized
releasable suture in partial-thickness filtering surgery. This suture acts
as a tamponade on the anterior surface of the scleral flap, assisting in
maintenance of anterior-chamber depth during the early postoperative
period. After using this technique, anterior-chamber depths preoperatively
and 1 day after surgery were compared in 35 phakic patients. A mean (+/-
SD) decrease in anterior chamber depth of 4.6% +/- 12% was found on the
first postoperative day. One patient had iridocorneal apposition. The mean
intraocular pressure 1 day after surgery was 7.0 +/- 7.0 mm Hg, with one
patent having an intraocular pressure of 28 mm Hg. This "tamponade suture"
appears to be useful in maintaining the anterior chamber depth in the early
postoperative period while permitting satisfactory filtration.
