An explanation of transient visual loss associated with leaking filtering bleb.

PURPOSE: To report a presumed cause for the transient visual loss noted by a patient with a leaking bleb following trabeculectomy.

DESIGN

Case report.

METHODS

Description of an otherwise healthy woman who developed delayed-onset transient visual loss associated with a leaking filtering bleb.

RESULTS

A 62-year-old woman who underwent trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in her right eye 5 years earlier (Feb 23, 1999) presented with a 3-month history of transient decreased vision. The apparent cause was a periodic gush of aqueous flowing across the surface of the cornea.

CONCLUSIONS

One cause of bleb-associated transient visual loss can be aqueous leaking from the bleb on to the anterior surface of the cornea, disturbing vision as it flows past the visual axis. This is temporarily relieved by blinking.