Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of INTERCEED® (Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ, USA) with a rabbit trabeculectomy model. This study included six eyes of six rabbits that were categorized into groups 1 and 2. Group 1 received trabeculectomy with mitomycin C (MMC) (applied by a cellulose sponge). Group 2 received trabeculectomy with INTERCEED®. Clinical examinations, including intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, slit-lump examination (bleb scores), and anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), were conducted for all cases on postoperative days 1, 7, 28, 56, and 84. All experiments were performed under general anesthesia. All rabbits were underwent surgery without any significant complications and were observed for general and ophthalmic conditions for 84 days postoperatively. There were no significant differences in the clinical course of IOP, slit-lamp photo findings, and bleb score between the INTERCEED® and MMC groups. Regarding the AS-OCT findings, filtering bleb was confirmed in both groups in the early period after trabeculectomy but hardly confirmed in the MMC group in the late period. Conversely, the scleral flap and traffic into the anterior chamber were visible in the INTERCEED® group even a long time after trabeculectomy. Our results indicated INTERCEED® could act as an effective and safe method for eye surgery and be helpful in preventing adhesion after trabeculectomy.