To describe the incidence of hypotony after 25-gauge vitrectomy and to identify preoperative and intraoperative factors that influence the occurrence of hypotony.

Retrospective, nonrandomized, interventional case series.

We reviewed 122 consecutive cases of 25-gauge vitrectomy for all surgical indications. The primary outcome measure was intraocular pressure (IOP) at postoperative day 1, measured with Goldmann tonometry. Secondary outcome measures were clinical signs of hypotony and other complications.

Hypotony, defined as an IOP of 5 mm Hg or less, was found in 13.1% of cases on postoperative day 1. Clinical signs of hypotony were encountered in 7 eyes (5.7%). The risk of hypotony was significantly lower in cases with air or gas tamponade (3.3%) than in cases without tamponade (22.4%). Hypotony was encountered more often in reoperations (29.9%) than in primary operations (9.2%; statistically significant difference). In cases in which intravitreal triamcinolone was used, the risk of hypotony was significantly higher (35.3%) than in cases without triamcinolone (10.3%). Phakic eyes had significantly less chance of hypotony (6.7%) than pseudophakic eyes (15.6%) and eyes undergoing combined phacoemulsification and vitrectomy (25.0%). At postoperative day 7, all cases of hypotony recovered spontaneously. None of our cases developed endophthalmitis.

Our results show that a transient hypotony occurs commonly after 25-gauge vitrectomy. Hypotony was significantly influenced by tamponade, reoperation, intraoperative lens status, and use of intravitreal triamcinolone. Although all cases of hypotony recovered spontaneously without permanent damage, the high frequency of hypotony does impose potential risks. Increased vigilance with focus on perioperative antisepsis and low tolerance of sclerotomy leakage are important for the prevention of endophthalmitis. Strategies aimed at lowering the risk of hypotony are needed to improve the safety of this promising technique.