FAQs / Cataract Surgery and Canaloplasty

QUESTION:

Dear Dr. Richardson,

I need to maintain IOP of around 14 which I have with drops currently. Is Canaloplasty still an option for me? I am due for cataract surgery and I am very interested in Canaloplasty.

Thanks,

******

ANSWER:

Dear Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 8:13 AM,

It is possible for Canaloplasty combined with cataract surgery to achieve IOP lowering into the low teens. I even have a handful of patients who have had both cataract surgery and Canaloplasty who now have IOPs below 10mmHg (though I would not expect that). As with all surgeries, Canaloplasty does not work in everyone and a small percentage fail over time. That being said, I will often recommend Canaloplasty over trabeculectomy (“trab”) or glaucoma drainage devices (“tubes”) as Canaloplasty is safer and even if it fails it is still possible to have a “trab or tube”. Once a trab or tube is done, however, Canaloplasty is more challenging to perform (if at all possible) and is more likely to fail than if Canaloplasty had been done before the trab or tube.

Warm regards,
David Richardson, MD
Patient-Focused Ophthalmologist

San Marino Eye
2020 Huntington Drive
San Marino, CA 91108
626.289.7856

Patient-Focused Websites:
New-Glaucoma-Treatments.com
About-Eyes.com

Date: Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 8:13 AM

Posted in: Canaloplasty, Canaloplasty and Other Conditions, Cataract