Illuminated Microcatheter–facilitated 360-Degree Trabeculotomy for Refractory Aphakic and Juvenile Open-angle Glaucoma

Abstract

Aphakic and juvenile open-angle glaucoma (JOAG) cases often prove to be challenging to manage, frequently requiring surgical intervention. Angle surgery has some reported success in these cases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate 360-degree trabeculotomy, facilitated by iTrack, for refractory aphakic glaucoma and JOAG. This study was conducted to evaluate the success and complication rates of illuminated microcatheter-assisted 360-degree trabeculotomy for aphakic glaucoma and JOAG (2 surgeons/2 sites, 2008 to 2011). The success of this surgery was defined as intraocular pressure ≤22 mm Hg with >30% reduction, without disease progression, oral glaucoma medications, or additional glaucoma surgery. One eye per subject was analyzed. All had gonioscopically open angles preoperatively. A total of 23 eyes status post iTrack-facilitated 360-degree trabeculotomy, 13 aphakic glaucoma cases (mean age 3.1 y at surgery), and 10 JOAG cases (mean age, 18.6 y) were included in the study. Complete cannulation/opening of the Schlemm canal occurred intraoperatively in 8 aphakic and in all JOAG cases. Success rates achieved at last follow-up were as follows: 8/13 (62%) aphakic glaucoma cases and 9/10 (90%) JOAG cases. Preoperative versus final intraocular pressure decreased for all surgically successful eyes (35.5±3.9 vs. 17.3±4.6 mm Hg for aphakic glaucoma, P<0.0001, after mean 30 mo and 30.7±7.4 vs. 13.4±2.8 mm Hg for JOAG, P=0.0001, after mean 10 mo). All trabeculotomy failures (n=5) occurred within 5 months. Complications included vitreous hemorrhage (2 aphakic eyes) and transient choroidal effusion (1 aphakic eye). iTrack-facilitated 360-degree trabeculotomy shows early promise for initial surgical treatment of medically refractory aphakic glaucoma and JOAG, with few complications and without affecting future surgical options.