Clinical Analysis of Glaucoma Patients Undergone Filtration Surgery

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We evaluated clinical aspects of the glaucoma patients who had undergone trabeculectomy. METHODS: We analyzed 211 patients' medical records who had undergone trabeculectomy in Chungbuk National University Hospital from August 1991 to December 1999 retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 57.1+/-16.3 years and the 119 eyes (56.4%) had bilateral glaucoma. Among them, 57 eyes (47.9%) had primary open-angle glaucoma. Cataract was the most common cause of decreased vision in the fellow eye during the mean follow-up period of 25.4+/-22.3 months. The number of patients whose visual acuity in the fellow eyes less or equal to hand movement before surgery were 25 eyes (11.8%) and they resulted from glaucoma (18 eyes) and trauma (4 eyes). CONCLUSIONS: The fellow eyes of the glaucoma patients who had undergone trabeculectomy were easily subject to high prevalence of glaucoma that may lead to blindness. Therefore, more thorough and periodic ocular examination and appropriate treatments are mandatory to prevent further progress in these eyes with more advanced glaucoma.