Glaucoma Surgery

Glaucoma Surgery is done to help protect your vision and stop it from getting worse. However, it can't cure glaucoma or undo vision loss.

Some facts about Glaucoma Surgery:

• A group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging the nerve in the back of your eye called the optic nerve is known as Glaucoma.
• A chronic, progressive deterioration of the optic nerve is known as Glaucoma.
• Glaucoma occurs when the pressure inside the eye called intraocular pressure, or IOP is too high for the continued health of the nerve.
• Glaucoma Surgery can be done either by laser treatment or making a cut in the eye in order to reduce the intraocular pressure.
• The type of surgery recommended by your doctor depends on the general health of your eye as well as the type and severity of your glaucoma.
• Surgery can help lower pressure when medication does not work.
• Glaucoma Surgery will be done only on one eye at a time if you need glaucoma surgery in both eyes.
• Glaucoma can be treated by lowering eye pressure in order to slow down or prevent the damage to the optic nerve.

Types of Glaucoma Surgery:

Glaucoma Surgery is recommended when glaucoma medicines and laser treatment haven't helped to treat your glaucoma. Laser surgery is always recommended before incisional surgery, unless the eye pressure is very high or the optic nerve is severely damaged. A focused beam of light is used to treat the trabecular meshwork of eye during laser surgery which helps increase the flow of fluid out of the eye.
There are different types of surgery for glaucoma that can help lower the pressure in your eye and protect your vision and stop it from getting worse.
Trabeculectomy, Glaucoma implant surgery and Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) are some of the procedure followed for Glaucoma Surgery.

Trabeculectomy:

• Trabeculectomy is done in a hospital and usually takes less than an hour to treat open-angle glaucoma. A tiny opening in the top of your eye, under your eyelid will be created by your surgeon where no one will see it. This will help lowering pressure in your eye by allowing extra fluid in your eye to drain away. You will be awake during trabeculectomy. Numbing medicine and medicine to help you relax will be given during the procedure. Usually you can go home the same day, but you will need someone to drive you home.
• Argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT),Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), Laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) and Cyclophotocoagulation are different types of Laser treatments.Clogs in your eye will be opened so that fluid can drain out in Argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT). Half of the clogs will be treated by your doctor first to see how well it works, and then the other half will be treated later.
• Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) will be done if ALT doesn't work so well. A highly targeted low level laser will be beamed at just the spots where there is pressure. Most of the time SLT may be the first surgical step because it is more specific.
• You can get narrow-angle glaucoma if the space between the iris and cornea of your eye is too small where the fluid and pressure build up. In such cases a laser beam will be used to create a tiny hole in the iris to drain the extra fluid and relieve pressure. This procedure is called as Laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI).
• Cyclophotocoagulation will be performed by your doctor if other laser treatments or surgery doesn't work for fluid buildup and pressure. A laser will be beamed into a structure inside your eye to correct the pressure. The procedure may be repeated over time to keep your glaucoma in check.

Glaucoma implant surgery:

• Glaucoma implant surgery is done in a hospital and usually takes 1 to 2 hours to treat several types of glaucoma, including congenital glaucoma, neovascular glaucoma, and glaucoma caused by an injury.
• A tiny tube, or shunt, will be implanted by your surgeon onto the white of your eye which helps extra fluid drain out of your eye, lowering your eye pressure. You will be awake during trabeculectomy. Numbing medicine and medicine to help you relax will be given during the procedure.
• Usually you can go home the same day, but you will need someone to drive you home.

Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS):

• Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) is recommended if you have mild glaucoma. The procedure help lowers eye pressure. It is safer and helps you recover faster.  
• Glaucoma surgery may have to be repeated after long periods of time or if excessive scarring cannot be prevented.

Risks of Glaucoma Surgery:

• Vision loss, Bleeding in the eye, Infection, Low eye pressure (or hypotony) and ScarringCataract formation are some of the risk associated with Glaucoma Surgery.
• Glaucoma surgery can temporarily disrupts your vision in the short term after your operation. Permanent vision can be reduced, or even totally lost in very rare instances as a result of any of these glaucoma operations.
• Bleeding and infection inside the eye, and fluid pockets behind the retina are some rare complications due to very low eye pressures.
• You should speak with your ophthalmologist if you are on blood thinners and follow his/her instructions about continuing or discontinuing the medication prior to surgery as bleeding inside the eye can be a very serious complication.
• Any type of infection inside your eye can be avoided by giving antibiotics before, during, and after the surgery, as well as maintaining meticulous sterile techniques. However, infection may occur inside the eye, which can be very serious and may affect vision on very rare occasions.
• You should call and see your ophthalmologist immediately if you have early signs of infection such as redness, pain, or excessive tearing in order to treat infection before it becomes serious as these infections can occur weeks, months, or even years after the surgery.
• Most infections can be adequately treated with antibiotic drops if caught early.
• Hypotony or too low eye pressure is more common soon after the surgery in which fluid may be collected behind the retina causing a shadow in your peripheral or side vision.
• Usually, Hypotony is temporary as the pressure returns to the intended levels. However, sometimes it persists and surgery will be be performed in order to fix this problem.