Intraocular Pressure-Lowering Effect of Latanoprost Is Hampered by Defective Cervical Lymphatic Drainage

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether defects in cervical lymphatic drainage influence the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effect of latanoprost in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who have undergone unilateral radical neck dissection (uRND). METHODS: We enrolled (1) bilateral POAG patients who had started (bilateral) latanoprost (0.005%) monotherapy prior to their uRND and (2) treatment-naïve, bilateral glaucoma suspects (GSs) who had undergone the same surgery. We compared the eyes ipsilateral to the uRND with their fellow eyes in terms of the changes in IOP between the baseline (prior to the uRND) and the follow-up visits (1, 3, and 6 months after the uRND). RESULTS: The study involved 22 eyes of 11 POAG patients and 14 eyes of 7 GSs. In the POAG patients, IOP had increased significantly after surgery in the eyes ipsilateral to the uRND (from 14.7±1.4mmHg to 17.1±2.2mmHg; P = 0.007). Interestingly, in the eyes contralateral to the uRND, IOP had not changed significantly after surgery (from 14.2±1.8mmHg to 14.4±2.0mmHg; P = 0.826). In GSs, the eyes ipsilateral to the uRND did not differ significantly from their fellow eyes in terms of post-operative IOP change (ipsilateral value: 0.3±0.5mmHg, fellow eyes: -0.1±0.7mmHg; P = 0.242). CONCLUSION: In the POAG patients, IOP had increased significantly in the eyes ipsilateral to the uRND. However, it had not changed significantly in the eyes contralateral to the surgery or in the eyes of the GSs. These findings suggest that, latanoprost works, at least in part, by enhancing outflow from the aqueous humor via the uveolymphatic pathway.