The Variation of Intraocular Pressure in the Context of Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

The human body can be envisioned as a high-performance machine that operates on the principle of "gears". As a consequence, any disorder at a certain level might lead to imbalances in other areas, which are sometimes difficult to detect and measure. One such relationship between two seemingly unrelated systems is that of abdominal surgery and intraocular pressure. The literature on this subject is poor, but available research suggests the occurrence of a change in intraocular pressure in the context of abdominal surgery. The present study analyzed the variation of intraocular pressure for two groups of patients who underwent classical or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The present research is based on a prospective, non-interventional, observational, descriptive study, carried out in the IIIrd General Surgery Clinic of the University Emergency Hospital, Bucharest. The study included patients who underwent abdominal surgery during January 2018 - December 2019. The study gathered a total of 67 patients, separated into two groups: 52 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy and 15 who underwent open cholecystectomy. No definite relationship between intra-abdominal pressure and intraocular pressure was found in the analyzed group, probably due to the small sample size, but further research is encouraged.