Excessive scleral shrinkage, rather than choroidal thickening, is a major contributor to the development of hypotony maculopathy after trabeculectomy

PURPOSE: We previously reported that eyes with hypotony maculopathy (HM) after trabeculectomy (TLE) exhibited more reduction of axial length (AL) than those without HM, suggesting that inward collapse of the scleral wall may contribute to the development of HM after TLE. However, we did not evaluate change in choroidal thickness (CT), which could influence AL measures. We compared the magnitude and rate of AL and CT changes in eyes with and without HM by simultaneously measuring these parameters before and after TLE. METHODS: We enrolled 77 eyes of 77consecutive patients with glaucoma, who underwent TLE between March 2014 and March 2016. Intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness, keratometry, AL, and CT were measured pre- and postoperatively, up to 6 months. These biometrics were compared in eyes with and without HM. RESULTS: The 14 patients who developed HM were significantly younger than those who did not. The eyes with HM exhibited significantly reduced AL (2.8%) compared to those without HM (0.7%). There was no significant difference in CT change between the two groups. The rate of AL reduction was significantly correlated with age, postoperative IOP, and preoperative AL. Post-adjustment logistic regression analysis revealed that eyes with AL reduction rate ≥ 2% had 11.67 higher risk for developing HM (95% confidence interval, 1.28–106.6; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: AL reduction rates ≥ 2% were significantly associated with HM. Excessive reduction in AL, which was seen in eyes with HM, was not an artificial measure resulting from choroidal thickening but rather reflected reductions in the anterior-posterior diameter of the eyeball. Inward collapse of the scleral wall leads to redundancy of the chorioretinal tissue, contributing to the development of HM after TLE.