Laser Procedure May Offer Another Option for Glaucoma

Posted on Sat 10th January 2009

The laser treatment reduced IOP by about a third, and the improvement was maintained for as long as five years, Lawrence Jindra, M.D., of Columbia University, told attendees at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.

In almost 900 treated eyes, the overall success rate, defined as no additional treatment, was 93%.

"The results with selective laser trabeculoplasty have been consistently impressive in the studies conducted to date", said Dr. Jindra.

To investigate the treatment's effectiveness as primary treatment in glaucoma, Dr. Jindra and colleagues did a chart review of consecutive cases involving 2,008 eyes from patients treated with selective laser trabeculoplasty from January 2002 through January 2007 and followed for an average of 509 days. For 853 eyes the laser therapy was the primary treatment.

The chart review showed that only 7% of the 853 eyes required additional treatment after the initial application of laser energy.

Dr. Jindra said 3% of patients required repeat laser treatment, 1% required repeat treatment plus hypotensive medication, and 3% required medication after laser treatment.

Among those for whom laser treatment was primary therapy, mean intraocular pressure (IOP) decreased from 19.1 mm Hg at baseline to 13.2 mm Hg after treatment, a 31% decrease.

The investigators retrospectively followed 60 of the 853 eyes at six-month intervals for five years. Pretreatment IOP averaged 21.1 mm Hg, decreasing to less than 14 mm Hg at six months.

The reduction was maintained throughout follow-up, and IOP averaged 13.7 mm Hg after five years

"Our findings suggest that selective laser trabeculoplasty may be effective primary therapy for newly diagnosed glaucoma patients," said Dr. Jindra. "Further study in controlled clinical trials is indicated."

source: www.medpagetoday.com

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