Type of Surgery

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Doctor Certified

Last updated: 02/17/2009

Demographics

Patients who undergo CCT are patients for whom certain techniques such as filtration surgery are contraindicated or for which other medical and surgical procedures have not been successful. Patients with neovascular glaucoma and congenital glaucoma...

make up a large percentage of the patients who undergo CCT. Because of the risks involved, cyclocryotherapy should not be performed on patients who have the potential for good vision, or on individuals who have had cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation. CCT is a last-resort technique employed on patients for whom all other strategies have failed.



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Other Information

Cyclocryotherapy (CCT) is a procedure that employs temperatures as low as -112°F (-80°C) to destroy the ciliary body, an organ in the anterior chamber of the eye behind the iris, which produces aqueous fluid. A certain amount of fluid is required to maintain the integrity of the eye, but an increase in intraocular fluid leads to an elevation in intraocular pressure (IOP); elevated IOP is a major cause of glaucoma. Ablation, or destruction, of part of the ciliary body lowers the IOP by decreasing the fluid or aqueous humor within the eye and thus helping to control glaucoma. The main purpose of CCT is to treat uncontrolled or refractory glaucoma. It is also used to reduce ocular pain in some patients with end-stage glaucoma.


From http://www.enotes.com/surgery-encyclopedia/cyclocryotherapy

Other Information

Approximately 56% of all patients achieve results of 20/20 or better and over 90% achieve 20/40 or better (which is good enough to drive without corrective lenses in most regions).1 Those with moderate to high myopia (greater than 7 diopters) have a lesser chance of achieving that result. As technique and technology improve, the results continue to improve.


From: Eye Surgery Education Council

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