Follow-up Study of Trabeculectomy

ABSTRACT

In 1968, Cairns introduced the trabeculectomy operation and reported it to be a highly succesful form of surgery for the reduction of intraocular pressure in primary open-angle glaucoma. At the present time trabeculectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with primary open-angle glaucoma requiring surgery. In the period January, 1975. to March, 1978, 72 eyes of chronic simple, chronic angle-closure, secondary, and developmental glaucoma were operated by trabeculectomy and/or trabeculotomy in Busan National University Hospital. Follow-up study was achieved in 28 eyes(chronic simple glaucoms 17, chronic angle-closure glaucoma 4, secondary glaucoma 3, and developmental 4) of 72 eyes, and the duration of follow-up ranged from 1 year to 2 and 1/2 years(average 18 months). Our operative procedure, which was different from others, was made with 1/3 thickness of scleral flap, and made 2 knots with 8-0 nylon placed in free edge of scleral flap and 1/3 of all cases was not placed scleral flap sutures. We achieved success in 23 eyes (82.1% )of 28 eyes of all types of glaucoma and 14 eyes (82.4%) of 17 eyes of openangle glaucoma. The control of intraocular pressure in interrelationship to formation of filtering bleb was statistically significance(x2(0.05, 1)=3.84>5.46), and to scleral flap suture was not significance(x2(0,05, 1)=3.84>0.39). The complications during and after operation were delayed formation of anterior chamber, hyphema, posterior synechia, vitreous prolapse, choroidal detachment, and lens and vitreous opacity in order.