Medical Treatment of Glaucoma
Primary Open Angle Glaucoma has most often been treated with eye drops. By using one or two types of glaucoma eye drops most patients are able to achieve a stable and lowered eye pressure. Some patients are unable to achieve adequate control with eye drops alone, or may experience intolerable side effects from the eye drops, and do better with an in office glaucoma laser treatment to maintain control as a first choice of treatment.
Laser Treatment of Glaucoma
Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a type of glaucoma laser treatment for Primary Open Angle Glaucoma that helps to reduce the Intraocular Pressure (IOP) by creating more effective drainage of fluid through the trabecular meshwork. We perform this painless procedure in the comfort of our office and often patients are able to obtain good stability and also reduce the number or frequency of eye drops they need to use. Laser Peripheral Iridotomy (LPI) is a type of glaucoma laser treatment for Angle Closure Glaucoma that creates a hole on the outer edge, or rim, of the iris, the colored part of the eye which allows the aqueous humor fluid to easily flow between the anterior chamber, the front part of the eye, and the area behind the iris, the posterior chamber. This is performed for patients with narrow chamber angles or those patients experiencing angle closure to prevent sudden buildup of pressure within the eye, which occurs during an episode of acute closed-angle glaucoma.
Surgical Treatment of Glaucoma
Even with the maximum eye drop medical therapy and glaucoma laser treatment, for some patients it is still not possible to achieve good stable control of their disease and stop the progression of vision loss. Our glaucoma specialist is able to perform Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) for most patients. Sometimes traditional glaucoma surgery may be an option and may include removing a tiny piece of the trabecular meshwork-called Trabeculectomy or a MIGS procedure called GATT (Gonioscopy Assisted Transluminal Trabeculotomy) might be recommended. Our glaucoma specialist is able to implant microscopic tubes, shunts, valves or stents such as the XEN Gel Stent, or iStent® or Hydrus MicroStent for cataract patients and ABiC™ – iTrack™ Ab Interno Canaloplasty Glaucoma Surgery which can be performed for patients needing glaucoma surgery combined with cataract surgery as well as those only requiring glaucoma surgery.