Objective: To investigate early influence on anterior ocular segment of diabetic retinopathy (DR) by retinal photocoagulation.
Methods: Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) was applied to obtain and analyze quantitatively the changes of anterior ocular segment, including the anterior chamber, anterior chamber angle, ciliary body and choroid before the retinal photocoagulation and on the 3rd and 7th day after the therapy in 36 eyes with DR.
Results: Significant elevating of intraocular pressure (IOP), narrowing of chamber angle and slight shallowing of anterior chamber were observed on the 3rd day after retinal photocoagulation. Ciliary detachment and choroidal detachment were observed simultaneously in 29 eyes (80.6%). Ciliary detachment or choroidal detachment occurred singly in 3 eyes (8.3%) on the 3rd day and most of them disappeared on the 7th day spontaneously The height of ciliochoroidal detachment in the superior quadrant is greater than that in other quadrants. The severity of ciliochoroidal detachment is negatively correlated to the age, not correlated to fast blood sugar, duration of diabetes and duration of DR.
Conclusion: Temporary ciliochoroidal detachment with changes of anterior chamber angle and IOP may be a common complication after retinal photocoagulation that should be designed properly.