Type of Surgery
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Last updated: 11/24/2009
Immediately after the procedure, another drop of aproclonidine is applied to the eye. The IOP is checked every hour for a several hours postsurgery. If the IOP increases dramatically, then the increased IOP is treated until lowered. Because of inflammation...
is inherent in this procedure, corticosteroids are applied to the eye every five minutes for 30 minutes, then hourly for six hours. This therapy is then continued four times a day for a week. Thereafter, the patient is seen by the surgeon at one week post-surgery and again at two to six weeks post-surgery. If there are complications, the patient is seen more frequently.
After the pressure has been stabilized, a visual field test to determine the extent of damage to the optic nerve may be performed again.
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Any object that we see is a collection of light energy focused on the retina. The lens of the eye helps us see near and far things equally well. This animation describes how the lens of the eye changes to accommodate and focus light.
Normally intraocular fluid flows freely between the anterior and posterior sections of the eye (A). As pressure builds in the eye, this circulation is cut off (B). In laser iridotomy, a special lens is placed on the eye (C). A laser is used to create a hole in part of the iris (D), allowing fluid to flow more normally and intraocular pressure to return to normal (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
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Laser iridotomy is a surgical procedure that is performed on the eye to treat angle closure glaucoma, a condition of increased pressure in the front chamber (anterior chamber) that is caused by sudden (acute) or slowly progressive (chronic) blockage of the normal circulation of fluid within the eye. The block occurs at the angle of the anterior chamber that is formed by the junction of the cornea with the iris. All one needs to do to see this angle is to look at a person's eye from the side. Angle closure of the eye occurs when the trabecular meshwork, the drainage site for ocular fluid, is blocked by the iris. Laser iridotomy was first used to treat angle closures in 1956. During this procedure, a hole is made in the iris of the eye, changing its configuration. When this occurs, the iris moves away from the trabecular meshwork, and proper drainage of the intraocular fluid is enabled.
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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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