Is silicone oil optic neuropathy caused by high intraocular pressure alone?
GROUND: Silicone oil endotamponade is used for the repair of complicated retinal detachments. Cataract, glaucoma and corneal endothelial dysfunction are the most frequent complications of silicone oil tamponade. Clinical and histopathological studies have revealed that silicone oil can penetrate into the optic nerve and into the brain. The mechanism by which silicone oil moves from intraocular into the optic nerve is still under debate. In order to render information about the effect of intraocular pressure only, we performed a post mortem experimental histological study to determine whether silicone oil penetration from the globe into the optic nerve after vitrectomy and silicone oil instillation is a purely pressure-related phenomenon. Although a post mortem study excludes physiological processes, it serves as a model for the study of pure physical forces onto “biological” structures. METHODS: The study was carried out on twenty human eyes with their optic nerves attached. All specim
