Intraocular Pressure Following Cataract Extraction

Considerable attention is paid to the depth of the anterior chamber following cataract surgery, and it is well known that the chamber is formed shortly following an uneventful extraction.1Knowledge of the intraocular pressure at this time, however, is not available. When chambers are shallow or flat, wounds leak, or choroidal detachments become a problem, the postoperative intraocular pressure may be measured. In order for such data to be valuable, however, the normal restoration curve for intraocular pressure following uncomplicated cataract extraction must be known. It is the purpose of this communication to present this data obtained in 79 eyes having undergone uneventful cataract extraction in which no postoperative complications were encountered. Applanation measurements recorded within 24 hours of surgery and at 24-hourly intervals thereafter, during an average hospital stay, are herein reported. Materials and Methods Eighty-five consecutive cataract extractions were studied. This group represented the patients of 8