LAUSR

PURPOSE Systemic absorbtion of topically applied mitomycin C (MMC) during trabeculectomy needs to be evaluated to look for any systemic toxicity, which might be a major concern in certain conditions like pregnancy. METHODS After obtaining ethical committee clearance, female patients in the reproductive age group undergoing trabeculectomy with MMC were included. Pregnant/lactating patients, patients with any systemic illness were excluded.During trabeculectomy, 0.02% MMC was applied subconjunctivally for 2 minutes and then washed. Blood samples were withdrawn at 1hr, 2hr, 4hr, 8hr, 12hr, and 24hrs after the surgery and analyzed of MMC levels using Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LCMS-MS). RESULTS The mean age of the participants was 29 ± 12 years. MMC was not detected in any of the plasma samples analyzed as it was less than the detection limit (<1.56ng/mL) of the employed LC-MS/MS assay. CONCLUSION It can be deduced that the systemic absorption of MMC is negligible or the plasma concentration is less than 1.56ng/ml (1000 times less than the concentration where systemic toxicity was not observed).