LAUSR

PURPOSE To evaluate the outcome of gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS A retrospective case series of patients with uncontrolled OAG treated by GATT at the cantonal Hospital Lucerne, a tertiary referral center, between October 2018 and July 2019 with a minimal 6-month follow-up period. Main outcome measures were intraocular pressure (IOP), number of antiglaucoma medications, and complications. RESULTS Thirty-one eyes of 29 patients with a mean age of 70.9 years and a minimal follow-up period of 6 months were included in this study. Twenty eyes were treated for pseudoexfoliation (64.5%), seven for primary open-angle (22.6%), three for pigmentary (9.7%), and one for traumatic (3.2%) glaucoma. Twenty-six eyes had data at the 6-month follow-up and 12 eyes at the 12-month follow-up. Twenty-two eyes (70.9%) were pseudophakic prior to the operation. Mean preoperative IOP was 33 mmHg (standard deviation [SD] 8.0 mmHg). The postoperative IOP was 13.9 mmHg [SD 2.2] at the 6- and 13.9 mmHg [SD 3.1] at the 12-month follow-up. The postoperative IOP evolution translated into a 58% decrease between 6 and 12 months (p < 0.001). Thirteen patients (41.9%) were treated with oral Diamox prior to GATT. The number of antiglaucoma medications decreased from a preoperative average of 2.9 [SD 1.2] to postoperative 1 [SD 1] drug (p < 0.001). The most frequent adverse event was the occurrence of postoperative hyphema. Hyphema was observed in 21 (68.0%), 7 (22.6%), and 2 (6.4%) eyes at days 1, 7, and 30 after GATT, respectively. Intraocular hypertension over 25 mmHg was seen in eight eyes (25.8%), and in four of them, a steroid response was suspected. One patient developed an anterior uveitis and a macular edema. CONCLUSION GATT is an effective and safe intervention for OAG, particularly in pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEX). The advantages of GATT compared to filtration surgery are the low rate of long-term complications and that the intervention is feasible even when difficult conjunctival conditions are encountered.