Intraocular Pressure and Visual Field Damage as Risk Factors for Visual Field Progression in Filtering Surgery

Abstract

To evaluate the relationship between preoperative visual field severity and postoperative intraocular pressure as risk factors for visual field progression. Patients undergoing trabeculectomy (TRAB, n = 92 eyes of 73 patients) or combined trabeculectomy and cataract extraction by phacoemulsification (COMBO, n = 49 eyes of 41 patients) by one surgeon with at least 6 months of follow-up were reviewed. Both the COMBO and TRAB treatment groups experienced a substantial decrease in mean intraocular pressure (4.7 +/- 6.0 and 10.1 +/- 6.5 mm Hg) and mean number of ocular hypotensive medications (1.8 +/- 1.2 and 2.2 +/- 1.5), respectively. In the subset of 47 eyes with reliable visual fields, the COMBO group experienced a mean improvement in mean deviation of 2.75 dB, and the TRAB group experienced only minimal changes in visual fields. In general, visual fields did not worsen following trabeculectomy or combined surgery.