A preliminary study of short-term efficacy of Nd:YAG laser peripheral iridotomy in patients with primary angle closed glaucoma.
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was used for the peripheral iridotomy in 68 cases (80 eyes) of primary angle closed glaucoma. The average number of laser shots is 20.5 (1-127 shots), and the average shot energy is 2.5 mJ (0.9-5.6 mJ). The successful rate of iris penetration is about 97.6%. The size of the iris hole is not smaller than 0.2 mm2. The kind of the iris is the most important factor that causes the marked variation in laser shots and in laser shot energy. The main complications of Nd:YAG laser iridotomy present as transient IOP elevation and iris bleeding. Increase in IOP most occurs within two hours after the laser therapy. The iris bleeding was seen in about 39% of the patients, but this iris bleeding is slight and very minor and tend to stop spontaneously. On the other hand, no correlation was found among the IOP elevation, laser shot, and laser shot energy. The causes and management of the IOP elevation after Nd:YAG laser iridotomy was discussed in detail. The authors believe that this newer treatment has immediate benefit for the patients with narrow-angle or angle-closure glaucoma, but many problems still remain to be investigated.
Ye
T
T
Eye Hospital, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Ge
J
J
Zhuan
W
W
D005260:Female; D015812:Glaucoma, Angle-Closure / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007498:Iris / Q000601:surgery*; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D009798:Ocular Hypertension / Q000209:etiology