Current glaucoma treatments
- Drugs: Some medications provide enhanced drainage, and some reduce the production of aqueous humor to help relieve the pressure. Many patients are adequately managed with drug therapy. However, drugs must be taken every day, and these medications can lose their effectiveness over time, especially with patients in the advanced stages of glaucoma.
- Trabeculoplasty: Laser trabeculoplasty uses a very high energy beam of light or laser to improve fluid drainage from the trabecular meshwork (the eye's natural plumbing system). Many people have benefited from this type of therapy. But it does have downsides: The trabeculoplasty procedure must be repeated, and the laser can cause irreversible scarring, potentially resulting in various vision problems.
- Surgery/Trabeculectomy: The most common conventional surgery performed for glaucoma is the trabeculectomy. Here, the surgeon removes a portion of the trabecular meshwork, allowing fluid to flow out of the eye, lowering IOP. However, scarring can occur around or over the flap opening, causing it to lose effectiveness. It is also possible for a single patient to require multiple trabeculectomy procedures.
A new alternative
Now there is hope in the fight against glaucoma. There's an innovative, noninvasive procedure for patients who may be frustrated with their medications and aren't ready for surgery. It's called Canaloplasty.
What is Canaloplasty?
Canaloplasty is proven to safely lower intraocular pressure (IOP) and dependence on medications. And unlike traditional procedures, Canaloplasty is minimally invasive and has fewer complications and less follow-up. Canaloplasty uses breakthrough microcatheter technology in a simple and minimally invasive procedure.
How is Canaloplasty performed?
To perform Canaloplasty, your doctor will create a tiny incision to gain access to a canal in the eye. A microcatheter microcatheter will circumnavigate the canal around your iris, enlarging the main drainage channel and its smaller collector channels through the injection of a sterile, gel-like iris material called viscoelastic. The catheter is then removed and a suture is placed within the canal and tightened. This tightened suture ensures that the canal remains open. By opening the canal, the pressure inside your eye will be relieved.
