The long-term effects of iridectomy for primary acute angle-closure glaucoma.

Forty-nine eyes were treated with iridectomy for primary acute angle-closure glaucoma. Forty asymptomatic, normotensive fellow eyes were similarly treated. The duration of follow-up after surgery was 52.3 +/- 3.6 months. Thirty-seven (76%) of the eyes with acute attacks were cured by iridectomy alone and required no medical therapy. Twelve eyes (24%) developed increased intraocular pressure following iridectomy, but only one eye (2%) required filtering surgery. Eighty-eight percent of the asymptomatic, normotensive fellow eyes required no subsequent therapy, and none developed visual field defects. Visual acuity was unchanged in 22 of 49 (45%) of the acutely involved eyes and decreased more than six lines in 11 (22%) eyes. In the 40 fellow eyes, visual acuity was unchanged in 63% and decreased more than six lines in only one (2%) eye.