Newborn primary congenital glaucoma: histopathologic features of the anterior chamber filtration angle.

We present histopathologic findings that have not been previously reported as associated with abnormalities of the anterior chamber angle underlying newborn primary congenital glaucoma as a distinct entity. The major histopathologic findings were partial absence and retrodisplacement of Schlemm's canal, hypoplasia of the trabecular meshwork, broad attachment of ciliary muscle to the meshwork, and anterior insertion of hypoplastic iris with the formation of a pseudomembrane. These profound anatomic derangements explain why goniosurgery is frequently unsuccessful in cases of newborn glaucoma.