Purpose
Several studies have described the efficacy of canaloplasty for lowering the intraocular pressure (IOP) and thus slowing the rate of progression of glaucoma in different populations. We performed a prospective, experimental, 5-year follow-up, pilot study in Mexican patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) to evaluate if canaloplasty intervention decreases the IOP to ranges where progression does not occur.
Methods
Ten OAG eyes from 8 patients, without previous glaucoma surgery, were included in the study. Full ophthalmologic examination was performed, as well as achromatic visual fields (AVF), optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layer. All patients underwent canaloplasty, which was performed with the Glaucolight device (DORC®). A follow-up evaluation was done 24 hours after surgery and then repeated at weeks 1, 2, 4 and 8; evaluations were done at the 4th and 6th months. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and IOP were measured at every visit and in the last one VF and OCT were performed to assess disease progression.
Results
The descriptive variables of the study group are presented in table 1. Six-month-follow-up IOP in all eyes was statistically significantly lower compared to basal IOP (p<0.005 95% CI [9.89 - 16.30]), and pre-operative IOP (p<0.001 [95% CI 1.59 - 4.81]. The decrease in topical hypotensive medication per patient between the pre-operative period and the last follow-up visit was also statistically significant (p<0.005 [95% CI 2.27 - 3.52). No statistical significant difference was observed between the basal and 6 month AVF and OCT.
Conclusions
Eyes treated with canaloplasty, after 6 months of follow-up, showed lower IOPs compared with the pre-operative and basal ones, without topical hypotensive medication. None of the patients disclosed progression of the disease evaluated with AVF and OCT. It will be interesting to evaluate the clinical/functional outcome of the subjects after 12 months of follow-up.