USF Glaucoma Laser Treatment

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can silently steal vision when optic nerve damage impairs eyesight in different stages. The University of South Florida (USF) Eye Institute offers glaucoma laser procedures that can reduce the effects of glaucoma by altering the eye’s drainage system to reduce optical pressure and drain eye fluids. According to USF ophthalmologist Dr. David Richards, half the people with glaucoma in the United States are unaware they have the disease.

USF Eye Institute

• The USF Eye Institute is located in Tampa, Fla. on the University of South Florida campus. Since 1989 the institute has been a center for high-level patient care, research and education.

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty

• USF ophthalmologists use Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) to treat chronic or primary open angle glaucoma where the eye drainage system may be clogged or over productive. SLT involves putting 50 to 100 tiny laser spots directly on the eye’s drainage channel in an effort to completely remove eye fluid which is causing the pressure. SLT only targets specific eye cells, leaving surrounding tissue untouched.

Laser Peripheral Iridotomy

• Laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) is a glaucoma preventative laser treatment offered at USF Eye Institute when eye anatomy is at threat for angle closer. The angle is the part of the eye where the iris meets the cornea and if blocked, eye fluid can build up. LPI punches a hole in the iris of the eye to allow fluid to travel more easily from the back of the eye to the front.

Cyclodestructive Laser Procedures

• Clycodestructive laser procedures eliminate part of the fluid producing tissues inside the eye. USF ophthalmologists may perform these surgeries after initial laser drainage treatments and medications have failed to work. YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser cyclophotocoagulation is a crystal made of rare earth elements in an infrared laser used to destroy tissues. Diode laser cyclophotocoagulation sends a beam through the white part of the eye to partially damage underlying tissue. Endoscopic laser cyclophotocoagulation uses a fiber optic device to remove fluid producing tissue.

Iridoplasty

• According to Dr. David Richards of USF Eye Institute, after laser iridotomy, a patient’s drainage channel may still be too narrow to properly drain fluids from the eye. Iridoplasty is a secondary laser procedure allowing surgeons to use a soft laser burn on the iris to open the angle and encourage proper eye drainage.

Risks

• Inflammation after laser surgery can raise eye pressure.

  The number one risk of glaucoma laser surgery is a rise in eye pressure due to inflammation. A much smaller number, or 1 to 2 percent, of glaucoma patients develop cataracts after laser surgery.

Benefits

• Glaucoma laser treatment can reduce the need for eye drops.

  The most common benefit of glaucoma laser surgery is eye pressure reduction to the point where patients can control pressure with eye drops. A smaller group of patients will become medication free after surgery.