Background: Several general and local anesthetic techniques have been employed to try and prevent increase in intraocular pressure during surgery. Interest in general anesthesia for intraocular surgery is relatively recent. Many surgeons now prefer full anesthesia and indeed the increasing scope of ophthalmic surgery demands it. This study was therefore undertaken to know the changes in intraocular pressure, during various steps of general anesthesia using thiopentone sodium or ketamine for induction and suxamethonium (succinylcholine) for neuromuscular blockade.

Material and Methods: Sixty patients between the age group of 1-75 years were selected for this study. These patients were divided into two groups –I and II. The patients in groups were given general anesthesia and were operated for either ophthalmic or non – ophthalmic indications. A detailed general examination (including measurement of blood pressure) and systemic examination was done to rule out any systemic disorder which would directly or indirectly affect the measurement of intraocular pressure during the course of the study. Routine blood and urine investigations were done.

Results: The mean fall in intraocular pressure after induction as compared to mean baseline intraocular pressure was 2.48±1.32 in group – I. The mean rise in intraocular pressure after induction as compared to mean baseline intraocular pressure was 2.67±2.08 in group-II. This difference in the intraocular pressure after induction in group -I was statistically highly significant as compared to group -II (p<0.01).

Conclusions: Thiopentone sodium can be safely used as an inducing agent in any intraocular surgery done under general anesthesia. Ketamine, as far as possible, should be restricted to extraocular ophthalmic surgeries.