This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
High-intensity focused ultrasound cyclocoagulation may be less invasive alternative to classic cyclocoagulation
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
PARIS — A significant percentage of patients with refractory glaucoma responded well to high-intensity focused ultrasound cyclocoagulation, according to a study.
"A minority of the patients in our series did not respond to the treatment, but we were dealing with severe, very refractory glaucoma cases where outflow pathways are highly affected. You need them to be still partially functional to allow this technique to work," Jean-François Rouland, MD, said at the meeting of the French Society of Ophthalmology.
Jean-François Rouland
This new, less-invasive method of cyclodestruction from EyeTechCare uses miniaturized piezoelectric transducers to create small focal zones that better target the treatment area. Ultrasound is delivered for 6 seconds through each of the six transducers, covering the entire circumference of the eye. The high-intensity focused ultrasound beam passes through the eye tissue without disruption, reaching the target area in the ciliary body.
"A total of 27 eyes of 27 patients with refractory glaucoma were treated in two centers. Eighteen patients responded to the first treatment and three after a second treatment. Final success rate was 78%. A mean IOP reduction of 37% was obtained, achieving a mean postoperative pressure of 16.8 mm Hg," Rouland said.
No major complication was reported during or after the treatment, and clinical examination showed no lesion on the eye structure outside the ciliary body.
"We were able to confirm in this study that this procedure is safe and minimally invasive," Rouland said.
Disclosure: Rouland has no relevant financial disclosures.