A delicate surgery which gives people with glaucoma another treatment option has been performed here for the first time.
Called “glaucoma tube shunt surgery,” the procedure Tuesday at Scott & White-Brenham yielded outstanding results, said Dr. Shawn Khan, a local ophthalmologist who performed the operation.
“She’s doing great,” Khan said of the 67-year-old patient from Bryan. “Her pressure’s back to normal.”
Glaucoma, a disease of the optic nerve that can result in vision loss, is treated by lowering eye pressure.
Click Here for latest edition
“Glaucoma can’t be reversed, but you can stop the progression,” said Khan.
Initial conventional treatment is to use pressure-lowering eyedrops or a laser to treat the drainage angle of the eye.
The laser surgery makes it easier for fluid to flow out of the front part of the eye, decreasing pressure.
But tube shunt surgery is another viable option if the “conventional” methods don’t work, said Khan.
The patient treated Tuesday was using five different eyedrops in an attempt to lower the pressure “and still wasn’t having any success,” he said.
“She was using all these eyedrops ... there’s the expense and hassle of those. And she was using so many drops that the skin around her eyes was getting red and hardened.”
The tube shunt surgery is exactly as it sounds; a tiny flexible tube is inserted in the front of the eye to just behind the cornea, allowing minute amounts of fluid to drain through the back of the eye, said Khan.
A valve ensures that not too much fluid is drained, he added.
Khan said he has performed the surgery many times, but Tuesday was the first time it’s been done locally.
“It’s been around for a while, but there was nobody here with a glaucoma fellowship background,” said Khan.
The outpatient surgery takes about an hour and recovery time is minimal.
“The patient goes home with a patch and a shield,” Khan said. Those were removed Wednesday, and there were not even any restrictions on things like driving.
Khan said he also found it interesting that a patient was Bryan was referred to medical facilities here for treatment.
“Usually it’s the other way around,” he said.
