Trabeculectomy in Eyes With High Myopia.

PRÉCIS: Primary trabeculectomy was safe and effective at lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with primary open angle glaucoma and high myopia.

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of trabeculectomy in patients with glaucoma and high myopia.

PATIENT AND

METHODS

Retrospective case-control study. Glaucomatous patients with high myopia undergoing primary trabeculectomy surgery with at least 1 year of follow-up were compared with an age-matched control group without high myopia undergoing the same procedure. Surgical success was defined as: IOP ≤ 15 mm Hg with (qualified) or without (complete) antiglaucoma medications and at least 20% reduction from baseline IOP at the end of 48 months of follow-up.

RESULTS

We included a total of 90 eyes from 90 patients (45 eyes with high myopia and 45 controls). Within the 90 eyes, 70 eyes underwent trabeculectomy and 20 eyes underwent combined phacoemulsification and trabeculectomy. Although patients with high myopia had higher chances for failure (37% vs. 22%) compared with controls, the difference was not statistically significant ( P =0.067). In the multivariable analysis, patients of African descent ( P =0.043) and those with juvenile glaucoma ( P =0.001) had more chances of failure, even after adjusting for myopia. There was no statistically significant difference between complication rates in both groups.

CONCLUSION

Trabeculectomy was effective in reducing IOP in patients with high myopia and glaucoma, without the additional risk of complications compared with a control group.