Trabeculectomy with cautery.

Trabeculectomy with cautery was performed on 31 eyes of of 25 glaucoma patients uncontrolled on maximal medical therapy. The procedure was designed to combine the effectiveness of Scheie's thermal sclerostomy with the low incidence of complications associated with trabeculectomy. There was an 81 percent success rate overall and an 83 percent success rate in blacks. Average follow-up was 25 months. The average preoperative pressure was 29 mm Hg and the average postoperative pressure was 11 mm Hg. Immediate postoperative complications were minimal. The most serious long-term problem was the acceleration of lenticular changes. The procedure is technically simple with a majority of cases being performed by house staff at a relatively early stage of training. It is believed that trabeculectomy with cautery is indicated in blacks, in far-advanced glaucoma cases, and in patients in whom a conventional trabeculectomy has failed.