Treatment for glaucoma
The damage caused by glaucoma can't be reversed. But treatment and regular checkups can help slow or prevent vision loss, especially in you catch the disease in its early stage.
The goal of glaucoma treatment is to lower pressure in your eye (intraocular pressure). Depending on your situation, your options may include eyedrops, laser treatment or surgery.
Eyedrops
Eyedrops for glaucoma can help decrease eye pressure by improving how fluid drains from your eye or by decreasing the amount of fluid your eye makes.
Prescription eyedrop medications include:
Prostaglandin
Xalatan
Lumigan
Sympathetic blocking agent
Timoptol
α2 receptor stimulants
Alphagan
carbonic anhydrase inhibitor
Trusopt
Azopt
Laser therapy
Laser trabeculoplasty is an option for people with open-angle glaucoma.
To increase outflow of internal eye fluid, your doctor performs laser trabeculoplasty with a laser that creates tiny holes in the filtration angle of the eye, where the cornea and iris meet.
Trabeculectomy and Trabeculotomy
Your eye doctor may recommend that a surgical incision be made into the eye's drainage system to create new channels for more normal flow of fluid. To accomplish this goal, a trabeculectomy involves partial removal of the eye's drainage system.
Trabeculectomy is the most common surgical non-laser procedure performed for glaucoma when the IOP is no longer controlled by eye drops, pills or laser trabeculoplasties.
A trabeculectomy creates a "controlled" leak of fluid (aqueous humor) from the eye, which percolates under the conjunctiva. A small conjunctival "bleb" (bubble) appears at the junction of the cornea and the sclera (limbus) where this surgically produced valve is made.
A trabeculotomy is the same as a trabeculectomy, except that incisions are made without removal of tissue.
