Corneal endothelial cell changes after trabeculectomy and deep sclerectomy.

PURPOSE: To compare the effect of trabeculectomy and deep sclerectomy on the corneal endothelium. METHODS: This prospective comparative study investigated 62 eyes of 62 patients scheduled for a single trabeculectomy (n=18), a single deep sclerectomy (n=14), a combined trabeculectomy and phacoemulsification (n=11), or a combined deep sclerectomy and phacoemulsification (n=19). Exclusion criteria were history of corneal disease, ocular trauma, inflammation, or previous glaucoma or cataract surgery. Preoperative, 3-month and 1-year postoperative noncontact specular microscopies were performed on central and superior corneas. Endothelial cells were counted with a computer-assisted analyzer. RESULTS: In central cornea, a statistically significant postoperative endothelial cell loss was found after trabeculectomy and deep sclerectomy (alone and combined with cataract extraction) at 3 and 12 months. Cell loss was 7% after penetrating surgery and 2.6% after nonpenetrating surgery (noncombined surgeries). This difference in cell loss was statistically significant. Cell loss increased significantly over the course of the study at 12 months (9.6% and 4.5%, respectively). Cell loss was also significantly higher after trabeculectomy than sclerectomy in upper cornea only in noncombined surgeries. No statistically significant difference in coefficient of variation of cell size (CV) and percentage of cell hexagonality (Hex %) was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial cell loss was moderate 3 and 12 months after glaucoma surgery. However, it was greater after trabeculectomy, suggesting less corneal damage after deep sclerectomy. This observation deserves further clinical study.

Anterior chamber paracentesis in patients with acute elevation of intraocular pressure.

PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of anterior chamber paracentesis (ACP) in acute elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP). METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 20 patients who presented with acute unilateral elevation of IOP above 50 mmHg. IOP was measured before, 10 min, and 1, 7 and 30 days after ACP. The outcome at 1 year was available in 19 patients. RESULTS: The patients included 14 cases of primary acute angle-closure attacks and six cases of secondary glaucoma. IOP decreased from 53.4 +/- 4.2 mmHg to 24.1 +/- 12.5 mmHg at 10 min, to 18.2 +/- 11.1 mmHg at 24 h, and to 16.4 +/- 10.7 mmHg 7 days after ACP. ACP combined with antiglaucomatous medications provided immediate relief of symptoms in all cases and improvement of corneal oedema in 17 cases. We noted three failures in secondary glaucoma. We performed a laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) in 14 patients and a surgical procedure in 17 eyes. No complications related to ACP were observed. CONCLUSION: ACP is a safe and effective procedure for acute elevation of IOP in acute primary primary angle-closure but only remains an add-on therapy to usual treatments. However, this technique must be evaluated in larger series.