[Combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy as the initial surgical procedure of primary developmental glaucoma].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcome of trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy as the primary surgical treatment for primary congenital glaucoma.

METHODS

Twenty-two eyes of 14 consecutive patients with primary congenital glaucoma who underwent combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy as the initial procedure between 1981 and 2005 were selected for review. Records of ocular family history, age at onset of glaucoma, symptoms and signs, corneal integrity, intraocular pressure (IOP), gonioscopy, surgery, postoperative complications, visual acuity, refractive error, endothelial microscopy, axial length, visual fields and final status of the optic nerve head were entered into a computer database. The outcome, in terms of IOP obtained, was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

RESULTS

Cumulative probabilities of success, after performing combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy as the initial operative procedure, were 95.5% after 12 months and 78.2% after 24 months, with this rate being maintained during 15 years of follow-up. Four eyes (18.1%) required more than one operative procedure because of persistent raised IOP. Postoperative complications were rare. At the time of the last follow-up, of 12 eyes from 8 co-operative patients, the final best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was 0.5 (20/40) or better, in 75% (9 eyes).

CONCLUSION

Combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy as the primary surgical procedure offers long-term high efficacy in the control of IOP without medical treatment, is rarely associated with surgical complications, and a low need for re-operations