Diffuse type alteration of the ocular wall in different eye diseases.

The ocular wall dimensions (thickness and volume) were measured by means of ultrasonography in 61 eyes of 61 patients with different eye diseases and 31 eyes of 31 healthy subjects with or without refractive error. The results confirmed, that in spite of the great variance in the ocular wall thickness, depending on the axial eye length, the volume of the ocular coats is constant in healthy eyes (ca. 1.65 cm3). In patients with ocular hypotony (eyes after intraocular surgery or trauma, and eyes with uveitis or with phthisis bulbi) and in patients with exophthalmus, the ocular wall was thicker and larger in volume than in the healthy control groups. In contrast, the ocular wall dimensions (thickness and volume) were smaller in patients with glaucoma. The results of the study showed that an alteration in the volume of the ocular wall implies a pathological condition of the eye, and thus ultrasound examination of the ocular wall dimensions might play a role in the diagnosis and in the follow-up of the patient.