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

Surgeon: Excimer laser procedure a minimally invasive therapy for glaucoma

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

NUREMBERG, Germany — A form of glaucoma surgery that uses an excimer laser probe may be a minimally invasive alternative to other filtering procedures, according to one surgeon.

J. Funk, MD, discussed the procedure, called excimer laser trabeculotomy (ELT) here at the German Ophthalmic Surgeons meeting.

In ELT, an excimer laser is used in combination with an endoscope. The probe, inserted into the anterior chamber, is used to deliver 20 pulses of 308-nm laser light at 10 locations around the trabecular meshwork. The endoscope allows the operating surgeon to view the procedure as it is performed.

According to Dr. Funk, the excimer laser delivers low energy into the eye, which helps to prevent a thermal effect from the procedure. This has been confirmed by electron microscopy, he said.

Once the trabecular meshwork is penetrated, blood perfuses, indicating adequate penetration has been achieved. The blood also absorbs laser energy, preventing thermal damage, he said. The blood is rinsed from the chamber when the laser treatment is completed.

“It is hopeful that the new pores will not scar,” allowing for continued efficacy over the long term, he said.

Dr. Funk noted that the procedure can be performed on its own but has shown the best efficacy when combined with phacoemulsification. Cumulative data gathered from several users in Germany have shown that ELT combined with phacoemulsification can generate consistent IOP reduction, from a mean of about 27 mm Hg to a mean of 16 mm Hg, he said.

Used alone, ELT has been shown to reduce IOP to an average of 18 mm Hg, often without the need for additional IOP-lowering medications, he said.

He noted that there are relatively few complications associated with the procedure, and there are fewer reoperations compared to phacoemulsification combined with trabeculectomy.

The laser used in ELT has received the CE mark in Europe and Food and Drug Administration approval in the United States, Dr. Funk said.