The effects of compression sutures on filtering blebs in rabbit eyes

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of compression sutures on filtering bleb cellularity in rabbit eyes. METHODS: Six New Zealand rabbits had bilateral filtering surgery; In he stu dy eye, on postoperative day 14 a 10-0 nylon suture was placed that compres sed the bleb. Five-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was injected intravenously on days 15, 16, and 18. On day 21 histologic sections of the blebs were obt ained. The total cell count was compared to the number of actively dividing cells (marked by anti-BrdU antibody). RESULTS: Study eyes had higher total cell counts (P=.004) on postoperative day 21, but the proportion of proliferating cells was not significantly dif ferent (P=.11). CONCLUSION: In rabbit eyes, bleb compression sutures were associated with m ore cellular components in the bleb compared to control eyes, but did not i nduce a higher level of cellular proliferation.