Laser peripheral iridotomy for treatment of acute angle-closure glaucoma
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eye’s optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. In acute angle-closure glaucoma, the fluid at the front of the eye cannot drain through the angle and leave the eye. The angle gets blocked by part of the iris. People with this type of glaucoma may have a sudden increase in eye pressure.
Symptoms include severe pain and nausea, as well as redness of the eye and blurred vision. If you have these symptoms, you need to seek treatment immediately. This is a medical emergency. Without treatment to restore the flow of fluid, the eye can become blind.
Laser peripheral iridotomy surgery can clear the blockage, lower eye pressure, and protect vision. A laser is used to make a small opening in the peripheral iris, changing the fluid dynamics in the eye and “opening” the angle.
Selective laser trabeculoplasty for glaucoma treatment
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eye’s optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. It is the progressive damage to the optic nerve due to the pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure) being too high. Treatments for glaucoma are aimed at lowering the eye pressure.
Selective laser trabeculoplasty helps fluid drain out of the eye and relieve pressure. Before the treatment, numbing drops are applied before a high-intensity beam of light is aimed through the lens and reflected onto the meshwork inside the eye. The laser makes several evenly spaced burns that stretch the drainage holes in the meshwork. This allows the fluid to drain better. Selective laser trabeculoplasty is most commonly used in open angle glaucoma.
If a patient has glaucoma in both of their eyes, usually only one eye will be treated at a time. Laser treatments for each eye will be scheduled several days to several weeks apart. Laser trabeculoplasty is performed in the eye clinic and can be repeated if necessary.
Glaucoma Educational Link from the Academy of Ophthalmology
Glaucoma Educational Link from the National Institute of Health