[Subconjunctival or general anaesthesia in trabeculectomy--a retrospective analysis of the bleeding risk from a glaucoma surgeon's point of view]. / Subkonjunktivalanästhesie oder Vollnarkose bei der Trabekulektomie--retrospektive Analyse des perioperativen Blutungsrisikos aus Sicht des Glaukomchirurgen.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to compare the intraoperative and early postoperative outcome of trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in glaucoma patients undergoing general anaesthesia compared to those undergoing subconjunctival anaesthesia. METHODS: The perioperative results of consecutive glaucoma patients receiving a trabeculectomy with mitomycin C either under general anaesthesia (group 1, n = 60) or in subconjunctival anaesthesia (group 2, n = 60) were analysed in a retrospective study. All surgical procedures were performed by one surgeon and only one eye of each patient with no history of previous conjunctival surgery was included in the study. RESULTS: No significant peri- and postoperative differences concerning period of hospitalisation, intraocular pressure, filtration-bleb bleedings, hyphaema, frequency of laser suture lysis, hypotony, chorioidal detachment or revision surgery could be shown between the two groups. Considering all patients together, there was a significant correlation between the occurrence of postoperative filtering bleb bleedings and the absolute number of topical antiglaucomatous substances used prior to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The perioperative risk profile of penetrating glaucoma surgery with subconjunctival anaesthesia seems to be similar to that of procedures under general anaesthesia. For prevention of postoperative filtering bleb bleedings, the administration of topical antiglaucomatous drugs should be stopped before surgery.

[Combined deep sclerectomy and trabeculotomy in congenital glaucoma with complications]. / Kombinierte tiefe Sklerektomie und Trabekulotomie beim komplizierten kongenitalen Glaukom.

BACKGROUND: Lately there has been growing interest in deep sclerectomy as a therapeutic approach for the management of congenital glaucoma.In theory, its pressure-lowering effect is independent of external filtration, which minimizes the risk of failure due to conjunctival or episcleral scarring. In patients who have failed to benefit from previous filtering procedures and have refractory congenital glaucoma,deep sclerectomy could become an alternative. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 3-year-old girl with refractory congenital glaucoma underwent deep sclerectomy in her left eye. Intraoperatively, percolation through the trabeculodescemetic window was weak, so that the procedure was supplemented by a trabeculotomy. RESULTS: By now, throughout a follow-up period of 20 months, stabilisation of disc cupping and ocular axial length has been achieved without additional glaucoma surgery or medications. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with congenital glaucoma,the combination of deep sclerectomy with trabeculotomy may provide an additional therapeutic approach whenever the prospect of success appears to be limited with deep sclerectomy alone.

Cataract surgery under topical anesthesia in patients with coexisting glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare levels of patient discomfort and complications during phacoemulsification with implantation of a foldable intraocular lens (IOL) under topical lidocaine hydrochloride in patients with and without various forms of chronic open-angle and chronic angle-closure glaucoma. SETTING: Two university eye centers in Germany. METHODS: This prospective nonrandomized comparative study comprised 176 eyes of 176 patients with various forms of chronic open-angle glaucoma and chronic angle-closure glaucoma. Eyes with cataract and without a glaucoma diagnosis or history of intraocular surgery served as a control group (n = 212). All patients received a minimum of 5 doses (2 drops per dose) of topical lidocaine hydrochloride 2% before standard temporal clear corneal phacoemulsification and foldable IOL implantation. No intracameral anesthetic injection was given, and no systemic sedatives were used. The main outcome measures were the number of complications and adverse events. RESULTS: The intraoperative complication rate in all patients (n = 388) was capsule tear, 1.3%; zonule tear, 1.8%; vitreous loss, 1.0%; iris prolapse, 0.8%. No statistically significant differences in intraoperative or early postoperative complications were found between the glaucoma and control groups. The mean pain scores of patients were 0.38 +/- 1.1 (SD) in the glaucoma group and 0.36 +/- 0.8 in the control group (P =.21) Patient preference for cataract surgery under topical anesthesia was similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery-related complications and patient discomfort were similar in patients with and without glaucoma who had phacoemulsification and IOL implantation under topical anesthesia. These results indicate that topical anesthesia is safe for routine phacoemulsification with foldable IOL implantation in patients with glaucoma and does not compromise patient comfort.

A comparative study of topical vs retrobulbar anesthesia in complicated cataract surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare levels of patient discomfort and perioperative complications during phacoemulsification and implantation of a foldable intraocular lens under topical lidocaine hydrochloride and retrobulbar anesthesia in patients with cataract who also had exfoliation syndrome, uveitis, posterior synechia, phacodonesis, or previous intraocular surgery. DESIGN: A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was carried out at 2 institutions. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 476 eyes of 476 patients with various well-established risk factors fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In 238 eyes, phacoemulsification was performed under retrobulbar anesthesia, while the other 238 eyes received topical anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: All patients underwent temporal clear corneal phacoemulsification and implantation of a foldable intraocular lens. Patients under retrobulbar anesthesia received a single injection (3. 5-5.5 mL) of a combination of 0.75% bupivacaine hydrochloride, 2% lidocaine, and hyaluronidase into the retrobulbar space. Patients in the topical anesthesia group received a minimum of 5 doses (approximately 40 microL per dose) of 2% topical lidocaine. No intracameral injection of any anesthetic was given. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of complications and adverse events. The intraoperative conditions were judged by the surgeon (P.C.J. or F.K. J.), and a 10-point visual analog scale was used immediately after surgery to assess each patient's overall severity of intraoperative pain. RESULTS: The overall intraoperative complication rate was 1.9% for capsular tear, 3.8% for zonular tear, 1.5% for vitreous loss, and 1.0% for iris prolapse. Apart from the incidence of vitreous loss, which was significantly (P =.041) lower in the topical anesthesia group, no statistically significant differences in intraoperative and early postoperative complications were found between the groups. A supplemental posterior sub-Tenon space injection was required in 1.3% of the topical anesthesia group and in 0.8% of the retrobulbar anesthesia group. Chemosis (2.5%), subconjunctival hemorrhage (1.7%), and periorbital hematoma (0.8%) were seen only in the retrobulbar anesthesia group. The mean + SE pain scores estimated by the patients were 0.84 + 1.30 in the topical anesthesia group and 0.73 + 1.50 in the retrobulbar anesthesia group (P =.41). Patient preference for topical anesthesia (91%) appeared to be significantly (P =.01) higher than for retrobulbar anesthesia (62%). The surgeons found anesthesia-related intraoperative difficulty to be slightly lower in the retrobulbar anesthesia group (8%) than in the topical anesthesia group (14%). CONCLUSIONS: Surgery-related complications and patient discomfort were similar for the 2 methods of anesthesia. Topical anesthesia is justified as a means of improving safety without causing discomfort to the patient even in complicated cases of cataract surgery. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118:1037-1043

Assessment of diagnostic criteria in management of infantile glaucoma. An analysis of tonometry, optic disc cup, corneal diameter and axial length.

BACKGROUND: Infantile glaucoma is characterized by increased intraocular pressure, enlarged corneal diameters, optic disc cupping and typical anamnesis. The aim of our study was to evaluate the validity of diagnostic criteria in differentiating between manifest infantile glaucoma and glaucoma-suspected eyes (e.g. megalocornea). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive charts of 87 children undergoing ophthalmic examination under general anesthesia because of manifest or suspected glaucoma. At first examination in our clinic age-related differences of diagnostic parameters between 52 children with infantile glaucoma requiring glaucoma-surgery (group A) and 35 glaucoma-suspect children requiring no surgery (group B) were assessed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U Test. Influence of tonometry, optic disc cupping, and changes of axial length and corneal diameter during the follow-up on our decision for surgery were also investigated. RESULTS: Tonometry, axial length of the eye, optic disc cupping, incidence of corneal opacities and age of onset of symptoms were significantly different in the two groups (p < or = 0.002) from first through third year of life, whereas corneal diameters were not significantly different in the second and third year of life. Advanced disc excavation (C/D > 0.6) and increased IOP (> 16 mmHg) were significantly associated with the decision to undertake subsequent surgery (p < 0.0001). Changes of corneal diameter and axial length during follow-up showed no significant difference between those glaucoma patients who needed re-operation and those who did not, after the first year of life. CONCLUSION: Corneal diameters and axial length were helpful in the diagnosis of infantile glaucoma, but of limited use in the follow-up. The decision to undertake surgery was based upon tonometry and optic disc evaluation.