Prevention of the fat adherence syndrome with mitomycin C and 5-fluorouracil in experimental rabbits

Purpose. To purposely create a pathway for the occurrence of the Fat Adherence Syndrome in the eyes of experimental rabbits and then use antimetabolic drugs such as MMC and 5-FLU to try and prevent this syndrome and consequently the restrictive strabismus. Methods. A surgically induced scar between tissues adjacent to the posterior Tenon's capsule and the inferior rectus muscle was performed in 14 New Zealand Rabbits. The forced duction, using a spring scale, was measured preoperatively and one month postoperatively. Solutions such as Saline (control), MMC 0,05%, MMC 0,5% and 5-FLU 5% were applied between the inferior rectus muscle and the exposed tissue for one minute using a soaked week-cell sponge. Four distinct groups were set up for comparisson of the effectiveness in prevention of the Fat Adherence Syndrome by these solutions. Four orbits were exenterated for posterior histopathologic examination. Results. The induction of restrictive strabismus was successful in these experimental models. For the control group, a significant increase in forced duction (postop-preop) was found at all levels of ocular rotation using a paired T-test. There was no statistical difference between the forced duction in the control group of eyes and the treatment eyes at any point. Conclusions. The use of antimetabolic drugs such as MMC and 5-FLU could have a role in preventing this syndrome. Unfortunately, this study proves that these antimetabolites used had no significant effect on reducing this type of restrictive strabismus.