Glaucoma filtration surgery is effective but, like any invasive procedure, it comes at a cost. Not only can it induce short-term vision loss, but it can open patients up to infection, hypotony, scarring or cataracts.1 Now, researchers are singing the praises of an alternative to invasive surgery: micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation. This noninvasive alternative to glaucoma filtration surgery effectively reduces intraocular pressure (IOP) in keratoplasty eyes, according to an Indianapolis-based research team.2
The investigators looked at 61 eyes of 57 patients who received laser treatment; 31 eyes received one treatment, 21 received two, eight received three, and one received four. At baseline, the patients’ mean IOP was 28mm Hg ± 11mm Hg. One month after the last treatment, that mean dropped to 17mm Hg ± 7mm Hg. At one year it sunk to 15mm Hg ± 5mm Hg.2
Six of those eyes (10%) received subsequent glaucoma filtration surgery. The mean number of anti-glaucoma medications patients were using before the initial treatment was 2.7. At last follow-up, that dropped to 2.2. Micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation “reduced IOP by a mean of 35% at 12 months and was well-tolerated by most treated subjects,” the investigators explain.2
1. Ou Y. Glaucoma surgery series: the risks and benefits of glaucoma surgery. Brightfocus Foundation. www.brightfocus.org/glaucoma/ 2. Subramaniam K, Price M, Feng M, Price F. Micropulse transscleral |
