title: Long-term results of trabeculectomy in eyes that were initially successful.
abstract: A number of published case series provide short-term and intermediate success rates for the surgical treatment of glaucoma with trabeculectomy. There is little information, however, regarding long-term outcomes that extend beyond 10 years. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective study to determine the long-term outcome of eyes that had successful trabeculectomy surgery at 1 year (IOP < 21 mmHg, or lowering by 33% if preoperative IOP was < 21 mm Hg) and had been followed up for at least 10 years. We found 40 such eyes. With respect to IOP control, 83% were still considered to be successful at 5 years, 73% at 10 years, but only 42% at 15 years. Ten percent required additional glaucoma surgery by 5 years, 25% by 10 years, and 58% by 15 years. Forty percent of the eyes had cataract surgery by the time of the last follow-up examination. It appears that there is a significant late failure rate of trabeculectomy in eyes that were initially successful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago Eye and Ear Infirmary, USA.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wilensky
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002386:Cataract / Q000209:etiology; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014130:Trabeculectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome