Iwach A G, Hoskins H D, Mora J S, Dickens C J, Drake M V, Gaffney M M, Nguyen N, Wong P C, Tran H, Ma A S
Glaucoma Research and Education Group, Glaucoma Research Foundation, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers. 1996 Oct;27(10):823-31.
This is a follow-up report on 103 THC:YAG (holmium) sclerostomies ab externo performed on 87 eyes of 81 patients.
The patients received pulse energies of 0.06 to 0.13 J (mean total energy 4.4 +/- 3.3 J, range 0.6 to 17.1 J).
The estimated success rates with or without medication, and allowing a second procedure, were 44% at 2 years and 36% at 4 years. The mean preoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) was 29.7 +/- 11.4 mm Hg, and the mean postoperative IOP in the successful patients was 13.6 +/- 4.6 mm Hg (P < .01). Hypotony and iris incarceration were the most frequent early complications.
Although holmium laser sclerostomy is a relatively straightforward procedure and offers some advantages over standard trabeculectomy in select cases, it currently has a number of drawbacks that limit its use.
