Management of primary congenital glaucoma by trabeculectomy in Nigeria.

AIM: To review the management of congenital glaucoma, bearing in mind the limited facilities available in developing countries.

METHODS

The medical records of children aged < or = 3 years with primary congenital glaucoma seen at two teaching hospitals and one private eye hospital in Enugu, Nigeria over a 5-year period were reviewed retrospectively. All the children underwent trabeculectomy without use of anti-metabolites.

RESULTS

Fifty-seven eyes of 32 patients (5 unilateral, 26 bilateral) were reviewed. Pre-operatively, 63.2% of the eyes had a corneal diameter of 12-15 mm. After surgery, the number with corneal haziness decreased from 25 (43.8%) to 15 (26.4%) (p=0.05). The mean (SD) pre-operative intra-ocular pressure (IOP) was 28.3 (7.5) mmHg and the mean post-operative IOP was 17 (5.6) mmHg (p=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

When facilities for other treatment modalities are not available, primary trabeculectomy without the use of anti-metabolites can be employed to manage primary congenital glaucoma.