PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy, of the non-penetrating procedure for surgical treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma, by the analysis of its tensional results. METHODS: Retrospective study of 104 eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma submitted to a non-penetrating deep sclerectomy from 1999 to 2002. Mitomycin C was used in cases with high risk for bleb failure, such as, age under 45 years, blacks, previous ocular surgery. Final mean intraocular pressure was observed and success rate was calculated for the whole population and for each group (with and without mitomycin C) RESULTS: For a mean preoperative intraocular pressure of 22.57±4.92 mmHg, the authors found a mean final intraocular pressure of 14.22±2.89 mmHg. Mitomycin C was used in 80 eyes. Absolute success (intraocular pressure <18mmHg without medication) for the entire group was 82.7%, with a follow-up of 19.4 months on average. Success rate after 3 years of follow-up, by the Kapplan-Meier method, was 79.3% for the mitomycin C group and 67.9% for the other group. CONCLUSION: Although there is a lack of prospective randomized studies in order to evaluate the real value of this recent procedure, these results demonstrate its efficacy in a long-term follow-up.
Sclera; Glaucoma, open-angle; Prospective studies
