Trabectome® Minimally-invasive Glaucoma Surgery

TRABECTOME® is a minimally invasive surgical treatment for the management of open angle glaucomas.

The Trabectome® procedure is a minimally invasive surgical treatment for the management of open angle glaucomas. A tiny 1.7mm incision is made in the periphery of your cornea through which the surgery is performed. The surgical procedure involves unroofing Schlemm’s canal using a specially designed handpiece that delivers an electrosurgical pulse. The trabecular meshwork tissues are electro-cauterized and all tissue debris is removed by washing out through an automated irrigation-aspiration system. Usually, 90-120 degrees of tissue is removed from the nasal angle. At the present time, it is unknown as to whether removing more of the trabecular tissue will be helpful in lowering the IOP further.

This procedure does not involve opening up the conjunctival tissues to access Schlemm’s canal. This is a major advantage of this procedure as it makes future glaucoma surgery (if needed) a lot simpler with less risk of failure.

Who is a good candidate for Trabectome®?

Trabectome® is indicated for the surgical treatment of open angle glaucomas. It is contraindicated in patients with neovascular glaucoma, chronic angle closure, narrow angle glaucoma and narrow inlets with plateau iris.

How does it work?

Trabectome® reduces IOP by restoring the trabeculocanalicular outflow pathway. It increases the flow of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber, directly into and around Schlemm’s canal, and out through the collector channels (Fig.3). This procedure does not create a ‘bleb’ on the surface of the eye as fluid is routed through normal physiological pathways.

For more details visit the Trabectome® website.

What is involved with a Trabectome® procedure?

When you and your doctor make a decision to proceed with Trabectome® you will meet with our preoperative scheduling nurse who will give you detailed instructions on how to prepare yourself for your up coming surgery and what is involved in getting to the operative room for the procedure. See Preoperative instructions for more information.

This is an outpatient procedure performed in an ambulatory surgery center. The surgery itself takes less than one hour in most cases. The surgery is usually done under local anesthesia with intravenous sedation. After surgery, the eye generally is covered by an eye patch and protected by a plastic shield overnight. On the morning following the surgery, it is removed and the eye is examined by your ophthalmologist. Eye drops are then prescribed to prevent infection, and reduce inflammation. For more details click on Postoperative instructions.

For several weeks following the surgery, your ophthalmologist will observe your eye closely and examine you frequently. It may take up to 12 weeks after your surgery for the healing to be complete. During this time it is not unusual for your intraocular pressure, as well as vision to fluctuate. You will be ready to change your glasses prescription at around 6-8 weeks after surgery.