Newest Glaucoma Surgery

As the U.S. population ages we are seeing more and more cases of Glaucoma, damage to the optic nerve usually associated with high pressure inside the eye. In America the treatment strategy usually involves eyedrops and lasers with surgeries reserved for the most advanced cases. This is not the case in the United Kingdom where surgery is most frequently used if a single eyedrop is not effective enough to control the eye pressure. The surgery most often used in both the U.S. and the U.K. is a trabeculectomy, but newer surgeries now available will probably be used instead of the trabeculectomy. Glaucoma is very likely to become a surgical rather than a medical disease.

The company Glaukos very recently had approval granted for a unique and exciting glaucoma implant called the micro-bypass iStent. This tiny instrument is inserted into the eye's natural drainage system called the trabecular meshwork. It functions as an enhanced drain to decrease eye pressure. Usually inserted along with cataract surgery, it can also be used in stand-alone glaucoma surgery.

The studies that were used to prove that the iStent is effective have shown that a single shunt will decrease pressure to the point where pressure is very often controlled with one or no eyedrops! In addition, two or more iSent devices can be implanted at the same time to give a greater decrease in eye pressure. You don't have to use them during cataract surgery; the iStent can be implanted in a stand-alone procedure for Glaucoma only.

Research into new medicines and surgeries for Glaucoma continues. At SkyVision Centers we pledge to remain on the front line in fighting this disease.