This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Canaloplasty significantly lowers pressure, has low complication rate, European study finds

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

CHICAGO — Interim results of a European clinical study of canaloplasty show that the procedure is effective as glaucoma therapeutic treatment, significantly lowering IOP while reducing the number of medications used.

The study found that the procedure had improved IOP reduction results when sufficient intracanalicular suture tension resulted in a trabecular meshwork distension grade of greater than 0.5, according to Norbert Koerber, MD, PhD. Dr. Koerber presented 18-month interim results of 120 eyes enrolled for the procedure from three German study sites at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting, here.

"Experienced nonpenetrating surgeons in Europe have demonstrated significant reduction in IOP and glaucoma medication usage with very low complication rates when using canaloplasty to treat open-angle glaucoma," Dr. Koerber said.

Patients' preoperative average pressure was 23 mm Hg with an average of 1.8 medications. At 6 months postoperative, the average IOP was 15.3 mm Hg with 0.4 medications. At 12 months postop, the average IOP was 14.9 mm Hg with 0.6 medications. At 18 months postop, the average IOP was 14.2 mm Hg with 0.6 medications.

The procedure had some complications, Dr. Koerber said. There was trace anterior chamber blood in 24 patients at 1 day postop, three eyes had diffuse blebs at 18 months postop, and two eyes had Descemet's membrane separation. One eye had a postop IOP spike. However, there were no cases of hypotony, gross hyphema or choroidal effusion, Dr. Koerber said.