Recession of the anterior chamber angle was present in 60% of 43 patients who had traumatic hyphema three or four years previously. Average intraocular pressure of traumatized eyes did not differ significantly from that of nontraumatized eyes. On the other hand, pressure in eyes with angle recession was significantly higher than in those without recession (16.4 mm Hg vs 13.6). Moreover, intraocular pressure in nontraumatized eyes of patients with angle recession in their traumatized eyes was higher than in nontraumatized eyes of patients without recession in their traumatized eyes. Topical dexamethasone caused an increase in pressure as follows: (1) greatest in eyes with angle recession (8.8 mm Hg), (2) next largest in nontraumatized eyes of patients with recession in their traumatized eyes (7.6 mm Hg), (3) smaller in traumatized eyes without recession (5.6 mm Hg), and (4) smallest in nontraumatized eyes of patients without angle recession in their traumatized eye (4.1 mm Hg). Responsiveness of eyes to the hypertensive effect of topical corticosteroids may not be determined solely by genetic factors.