Glaucoma Surgery: Filtration Surgery (Trabeculectomy) combined with Cataract Surgery

If medications do not control eye pressure, or if they create intolerable side effects, surgery may be necessary in a small percentage of people with glaucoma. The standard procedures are usually one of the following:

• Filtration surgery (trabeculectomy). This procedure opens the full thickness of the drainage area.
• Laser trabeculoplasty. This procedure partially opens the drainage area. It does not reduce pressure to the extent of trabeculectomy but it has fewer adverse effects.

Many a times, the surgical procedure of trabeculectomy is combined with phacoemulsification procedure for Cataract surgery as the diagnosis of Glaucoma is often made during examination for Cataract.

The Procedure. In the combined procedure, usually the removal of Cataract by phacoemulsification and then implantation of IOL is done as the first step of the surgery. The second step is the Filtration surgery done for treating Glaucoma. Filtration surgery has been used for more than 100 years with only minor modifications. It uses conventional surgical techniques known as full-thickness filtering surgery or guarded filtering surgery (trabeculectomy).

The Details of the procedure (trabeculectomy) along with possible complications have been given under section for Stand-alone Trabeculectomy.

Post-operative Course and Care: It remains the same as after Cataract Surgery.