Micropulse laser trabeculoplasty under maximal tolerable glaucoma eyedrops: treatment effectiveness and impact of surgical expertise

AIM

To evaluate the effectiveness of micropulse laser trabeculoplasty (MLT) for eyes with open angle glaucoma (OAG) under maximal tolerable glaucoma eyedrops and to assess the effect of expertise performing MLT on its clinical effectiveness.

METHODS

Medical records of 42 consecutive eyes of 34 patients diagnosed with OAG who underwent MLT were retrospectively reviewed. The effectiveness was determined using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Failure was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction of <20% from baseline, an IOP >21 mm Hg during two consecutive follow-up visits, or surgical intervention for OAG. To determine the impact of MLT surgical expertise on clinical effectiveness, the eyes were divided into two groups according to whether the procedure was conducted by an experienced specialist (defined as a glaucoma specialist who had conducted at least ten MLT procedures) or a less experienced glaucoma specialist. The difference in expertise was determined using a log-rank test.

RESULTS

MLT was conducted by three glaucoma specialists. The overall survival rates were 0.76, 0.48, and 0.44 at 1, 3, and 6mo, respectively. The survival rates for MLT performed by a less experienced glaucoma specialist were 0.62, 0.31, and 0.25 (n=21 eyes) at 1, 3, and 6mo, respectively, whereas the survival rates for MLT performed by an experienced glaucoma specialist were 0.90, 0.64, and 0.64 (n=21 eyes) at 1, 3, and 6mo, respectively. The log-rank test showed a significant difference in the survival curves of the two groups (P=0.0061).

CONCLUSION

The 6-month effectiveness of MLT for controlling IOP is relatively limited in eyes with OAG using maximal tolerable glaucoma eyedrops. However, its effectiveness may be improved if performed by a glaucoma specialist with sufficient MLT experience.

Complete regression of branching vascular network in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy by ranibizumab and photodynamic therapy, two case reports

BACKGROUND

Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) consists of polyps that potentially cause massive subretinal hemorrhage and their branching vascular network (BVN) of feeder vessels. Although conventional indocyanine green angiography (IA) has shown anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents and/or photodynamic therapy (PDT) to successfully induce polyp closure, the BVN appears resistant to these therapies and serves as the origin of recurrent active polyps. Recently introduced optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) enables more frequent angiographic evaluation of polyps and the BVN than does conventional IA since it does not require intravenous fluorescent dye injection and is thus considered non-invasive.

CASE PRESENTATION

Case 1. A 70-year-old male with PCV in his left eye suffered from vision deterioration (20/40) due to persistent subretinal fluid despite 42 intravitreal injections of ranibizumab (IVRs) over 5 years and 7 months. PDT was performed as an adjunct therapy 3 days after the 43rd IVR. IA at 3 months after PDT showed successful polyp closure but persisting BVN. However, more frequent evaluation with OCT-A starting at 1 week after PDT demonstrated complete regression of both the BVN and polyp. OCT-A at every subsequent outpatient visit depicted gradual re-perfusion of the BVN and the restoration of most of its original network at 3 months, which was compatible with IA findings. Neither OCTA nor IA revealed polyp recurrence at 3 months. Case 2. A 65-year-old female suffering from left vision deterioration due to PCV underwent 5 intravitreal injections of aflibercept. Since her subretinal fluid persisted, the treatment was switched to a combination of IVR and PDT. OCT-A revealed marked regression of the BVN and polyp at 2 weeks, but the BVN had regained its original shape at 2 months without any sign of polyp recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Differently from previous observations obtained by IA alone, more frequent non-invasive OCT-A examination revealed complete but transient regression of the BVN just after combination therapy with IVR and PDT.