The high-pressure bleb

A 45-year-old male presented with a slowly progressive, painless swelling in his right eye for the past 6 months. He had undergone an open globe injury repair 10 years back and an eventful cataract surgery 5 years back. The presenting visual acuity in the affected eye was perception of light with inaccurate projection of rays. The intraocular pressure was 44 mm Hg with advanced glaucomatous cupping. The swelling was identified to be a communicating sub-tenon cyst secondary to scleral wound dehiscence from secondary angle closure glaucoma. Wound re-suturing, cyst excision and diode laser cyclophotocoagulation was performed in a single sitting, with explained poor visual prognosis.

The Results of Transscleral Diode Laser Cyclophotocoagulation in Micropulse Mode Treatment in Patients with Primary Subcompensated Open-Angle Glaucoma and Toxic-Allergic Syndrome of the Ocular Surface

Purpose: to analysis the results of microimpulse transscleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation (DCPC) technique as a method of choice in patients with open-angle subcompensated glaucoma (OAG) with toxic allergic syndrome of the ocular surface (TASOS).Methods. The retrospective analysis of patients’ case reports with subcompensated open-angle glaucoma and TASOS was performed. Transscleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation (DCPC) in a microimpulse mode was used in their treatment. A total of 19 patients’ case reports were analyzed.Results. In the postoperative period, its course, patient’s complaints, ophthalmological status, visual acuity indicators were determined. The level of intraocular pressure was measured. Almost all patients (84.2 %) reached the target level of IOP. The frequency of side effects was low. In 36.84 % of patients, symptoms of TASOS decreased in response to hypotensive treatment due to reduction of instillation frequency.Conclusion. The use of micro-pulse cyclophotocoagulation in patients with subcompensation form of OAG and toxic-allergic ocular surface syndrome (TASOS) reduces the intensity of the drop regime of antihypertensive drugs. As a result, the manifestations of TASOS are reduced, which increases the patients’ quality of life in the postoperative period. In addition, the use of DCPC in microimpulse mode leads to stabilization of functional and structural indicators, helps to prevent a decrease in visual functions. Thus, the described method is characterized by safety, high efficiency and a wide range of indications for its performance. It allows to compensate the IOP with a minimum percentage of complications and stable postoperative results.

Micropulse trans-scleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation in refractory glaucoma: an initial experience in Indian eyes

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of micro-pulse trans-scleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation (MP-TSCPC) in Indian eyes with refractory glaucoma. Methods A prospective interventional short-term study was carried out with relatively small sample size of 55 eyes with refractory glaucoma. All eyes had visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements at baseline, 1 week (1w), 1 month (1 m) and 3 months (3 m). A single surgeon treated all eyes with recommended MP-TSCPC treatment settings. Surgical success was defined as achieving an IOP between 8–21 mmHg or achieving > 20% IOP reduction. Results The age of participants was 56.98 ± 15.74 years. Our study had more number of males. VA (in logMAR) at baseline was 1.38 ± 0.99. VA was 1.43 ± 0.93 at 1w, 1.47 ± 0.94 at 1 m and 1.47 ± 0.96 at 3 m (p > 0.05 for all). IOP (in mmHg) at baseline was 30.38 ± 10.70. IOP was 15.72 ± 6.85 at 1w, 16.98 ± 8.72 at 1 m and 17.60 ± 8.40 at 3 m (p < 0.001 for all). At 3 m, 49 (89.1%) eyes had surgical success. Surgical success was lesser in primary open angle glaucoma (p = 0.03). IOP at baseline showed significant correlation with percentage reduction in IOP at each review (p < 0.05). Use of glaucoma medication reduced from 2.94 ± 0.98 to 2.01 ± 1.16 at 3 m (p < 0.001). At 3 m, hypotony was noted in 4 (7.3%) eyes and reduction in visual acuity was seen in 15 (27.3%) eyes. Conclusion Initial experience in Indian eyes has shown that MP-TSCPC is safe and effective for refractory glaucoma. Patients can expect significant IOP lowering along with reduction in number of topical medications required for control of IOP.

Surgical stimulation of uveoscleral outflow is an alternative to cyclodestructive procedures

Aim: to assess clinical efficacy and safety of surgical scleral rejection (SSR) vs. transscleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation (TSCPC) in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and secondary glaucoma (SG). Patients and Methods: study (prospective) group included 84 patients with POAG and SG after SSR. Control (retrospective) group included 80 patients after TSCPC. In addition, the patients were distributed by age and the stage and type of glaucoma, i.e., 128 patients were diagnosed with POAG and 36 patients were diagnosed with secondary thrombotic glaucoma. Follow-up was 24 to 36 months. IOP measurements, tonography (to assess the coefficient outflow facility / COF), ultrasound biomicroscopy of the anterior segment, visual acuity measurement, and visual field testing were performed. Results: no complications after SSR were reported in patients with POAG and SG. In contrast, postoperative complications (choroidal effusion, hyphema, and uveitis) were reported in 14% of patients after TSCPC. Long-term IOP-lowering efficacy of both procedures was similar (87% after SSR and 89% after TSCPC). In POAG, greater IOP reduction was seen after TSCPC (by 39.11%) compared to SSR (by 31.58%) (p<0.05). Meanwhile, in patients with SG, treatment outcomes were similar (IOP reduced by 36.78% after TSCPC and by 35.26% after SSR). In longterm follow-up, PVF reduced by 10.76% vs. baseline after TSCPC but increased by 11.19% vs. baseline after SSR (p≤0.05). Surgery resulted in the improvement or stabilization of visual functions. Ultrasonography has demonstrated that outflow pathways (intrascleral space and filtering bleb) remain functional after SSR in long-term follow-up. Conclusion: SSR is an alternative to cyclodestructive procedures in POAG and SG. Sclera being the final point of the uveoscleral outflow is a perspective entity to develop surgical approaches to glaucoma treatment. Keywords: surgical scleral resection, uveoscleral outflow, sclera, primary open-angle glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, glaucoma surgery, transscleral diode laser cyclophotocoagulation. For citation: Korchuganova E.A., Kazantzeva A.Yu. Surgical stimulation of uveoscleral outflow is an alternative to cyclodestructive procedures. Russian Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2021;21(1):9–13. DOI: 10.32364/2311-7729-2021-21-1-9-13.