[Combined operations: trabeculectomy, crystalline lens extraction and insertion of a posterior chamber implant: a 3-year retrospective study].

Thirty-four eyes of 29 patients with coexisting cataract and glaucoma that underwent glaucoma triple procedure between 1991 et 1994 were retrospectively analyzed. Mean follow-up was 9 months. A phacotrabeculectomy (PHACO-TRAB) was performed in 21 eyes, 13 eyes received extracapsular cataract extraction with trabculectomy (ECCE-TRAB). In 26 eyes, adjunctive 5-FluoroUracil subconjunctival injections were administrated. Our results showed a mean decrease from preoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) baseline of 10.5 mmHg at 3 months. (Mean preoperative IOP = 25.6 mmHg, mean IOP 3 months = 15.1 mmHg). The mean IOP decrease appears equivalent in the PHACOTRAB group compared to the ECCE-TRAB group, with a stable IOP result during the follow-up. Overall mean visual acuity improved from 0.16 preoperatively to 0.6 at 3 months with a slightly better result in the PHACO-TRAB group. Postoperative hyphema and fibrinous anterior uveitis were seen more often in the ECCE-TRAB than in the PHACO-TRAB group. This observation, along with the rapidity of the surgery, the quicker visual rehabilitation and the technique that is less disruptive to the conjunctiva are arguments in favour of phacotrabeculectomy whenever a combined procedure is indicated.