Hypotony and retinal detachment.

The present work has been based on the assumption that the decreased intraocular pressure in eyes with retinal detachment is due to an abnormal posterior aqueous outflow, in addition to the normal anterior pathways. Subretinal fluid may leak out either through the peri-optic connective tissue or across the retinal pigment epithelium. In order to test the validity of these alternatives against clinical observations, a fluid dynamic model has been developed to calculate intraocular pressure-drop versus detached area in both cases. In contrast to the choroidal alternative, the numerical results from the peri-optic route exhibit qualitative agreement with clinical observations. It is concluded that both clinical and theoretical findings lend support to the hypothesis that the intraocular pressure-drop in eyes with retinal detachment is due to drainage of subretinal fluid via the peri-optic tissue.