Surgery

In certain cases, surgery may be required.

• If you have angle-closure glaucoma, an operation called an iridotomy may need to be done. During an iridotomy, a drainage hole is created in the iris in order to relieve the increased pressure inside the eye. This technique can be performed using a laser; therefore, an incision in the eye is not needed. You may choose to have an iridotomy after an acute episode of angle-closure glaucoma or to prevent an attack of angle-closure glaucoma.

• Medication normally does not work well for congenital glaucoma, so surgery is usually required.

• Other types of surgery that are performed to help glaucoma include trabeculoplasty, cyclophotocoagulation, and filtering. All of these procedures try to ease the drainage of aqueous humor in the affected eye or eyes to decrease IOP. For more information on these procedures, consult your eye doctor.