Options for Glaucoma Treatment
Glaucoma Treatment The most important goal of glaucoma treatment is to reserve vision by preventing optic nerve damage. As increased intraocular pressure (eye pressure) can damage the optic nerve, preservation of this is best achieved by
reducing the intraocular pressure. Pressure-lowering treatments are the only ones which are currently available. It is believed that lowering pressure slows or halts visual field loss in the majority of patients. While it is true that some patients continue to lose some vision even when the pressure is lowered substantially, most patients are able to retain vision.
Types of Glaucoma
In general, glaucoma can be considered to be one of two types: open-angle glaucoma or angle-closure glaucoma. In open-angle glaucoma, your eye doctor is able to observe the drainage system (trabecular meshwork) with special examination
techniques, but the exact location at which it is blocked cannot be seen. In angle-closure glaucoma, the drainage system is blocked, usually by the iris (the coloured part of the eye), and fluid is not able to enter the trabecular meshwork for drainage.
Options for Glaucoma Treatment
There are three basic options for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma:
Medication
(eye drops or pills)
Laser surgery
(laser trabeculoplasty)
Incisional surgery
(trabeculectomy or similar glaucoma filtering surgery)
The remainder of this discussion will focus only on the treatment of open-angle
glaucoma, the most common form of glaucoma.
