This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Physician shares pearls, indications for laser trabeculoplasty
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
BEIJING — Laser trabeculoplasty, while not a lifelong treatment for glaucoma, provides a viable treatment option for effective lowering of IOP with improved compliance in early to moderate disease, according to a physician here.
"I would suggest that you regard [selective laser trabeculoplasty] and [argon laser trabeculoplasty] as a new class of medicine for the patient who you're trying to medically manage with excellent compliance because you're doing the treatment and no major long-term side effects, apart perhaps from the damage which multiple sessions of ALT may cause to the trabecular meshwork," Paul Healey, MBBS (Hons), BMedSc, MMed, PhD, FRANZCO, said at the 25th APAO Congress.
"You can assume perhaps a 50% to 70% chance of a 25% to 30% pressure drop with about a 50% chance it will still be working in 4 to 5 years," he said.
He said the best candidates for ALT and SLT are those who have serious issues with medications, including adverse reactions and poor to no compliance.
Other good candidates are those with early stage disease and more trabecular meshwork pigmentation for ALT cases.
Poor candidates for laser trabeculoplasty include those with closed or damaged angles, Dr. Healey said.