Glaucoma Laser Surgery Procedure

Migs minimally invasive glaucoma surgery are a group of newer procedures that are usually combined with cataract surgery to lower eye pressure to the mid teens range.

Glaucoma laser surgery procedure.

This is where the iris the coloured bit of the eye is pushed forward blocking off the natural drainage pathway for the fluid in the eye. However for some glaucoma surgeries it is better to perform the glaucoma surgery alone and address the cataract later in a second operation. Selective laser trabeculoplasty or slt is a form of laser surgery that is used to lower intraocular pressure in glaucoma. During laser surgery a focused beam of light is used to treat the eye s trabecular meshwork the eye s drainage system.

According to the glaucoma research foundation this laser glaucoma surgery can lower eye pressure by 20 to 30 percent and is successful in about 80 of patients. Find out whether you need laser treatment how it works and what happens afterward. Your eyes may feel itchy or gritty and swollen but these feelings should go away in 1 or 2 days. Doctors often recommend laser surgery before incisional surgery unless the eye pressure is very high or the optic nerve is badly damaged.

This causes the fluid in the eye to build up increasing iop and damaging the optic nerve. You may be sensitive to light and have slightly blurred vision as your eyes. Argon laser trabeculoplasty alt. Here are some types of laser surgery for glaucoma.

The cost for an uninsured individual or with an insurance co pay will vary. Safer procedures on the horizon. In yag cp laser surgery a local anesthetic is used to numb the eye. One or both eyes may be done.

Since the procedure is an accepted glaucoma treatment and is fda approved it is covered by medicare and medical insurance. Laser iridotomy and laser iridoplasty are used to treat angle closure glaucoma or narrow angles. This opens clogs in your eye so fluid can drain out. Glaucoma laser surgery is usually done at a doctor s office or outpatient surgery clinic.

Once the eye has been numbed there should be little or no pain and discomfort. Your doctor may treat half of the clogs first see how. You should be able to see right after the surgery. Cataract surgery and glaucoma shunt procedures during this surgery your ophthalmologist will remove your eye s cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial one.

This helps increase the flow of fluid out of the eye. Laser treatment or trabeculoplasty is a simple procedure to treat glaucoma that your eye doctor can do in the office. Though the reduction in eye pressure from slt may not be permanent the procedure can often be safely repeated if needed. To help lower your eye pressure he or she will also put a tiny plastic tube called a shunt under the thin clear membrane covering the white of your eye.