THE RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF VITREOUS HUMOR AFTER Q-SWITCHED LASER PHOTO DISRUPTION.

This work aimed to study the photo disruptive effect of a Q-switched laser with two different energy protocols on the rheological properties of the vitreous humor after treatment of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD). Twenty-one New Zealand albino rabbits were used in this study and divided into three groups. One group was used as control (n = 6 eyes), the second group (n = 18) was treated with Q-switched laser energy of 5 mJ × 100 pulse (× means times) delivered to the anterior, middle and posterior vitreous respectively (n = 6 eyes for each). The third group (n = 18 eyes) was treated with 10 mJ × 50 pulse delivered to the anterior, middle and posterior vitreous respectively (n = 6 eyes for each). After two weeks, the protein content, refractive index (RI) and the rheological properties of vitreous humor were determined. The protein content, refractive index, consistency, shear stress and viscosity were increased especially for irradiation of the mid-vitreous, and posterior vitreous. The flow index remained below unity indicating the non-Newtonian behavior of the vitreous humor. Application of Q-switched laser on mid-vitreous and posterior vitreous induce deleterious effect on the gel state of the vitreous humor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]