Trabeculectomy

If you have glaucoma and medications and laser surgeries do not lower your eye pressure adequately, we may recommend a procedure called a trabeculectomy.

In this procedure, a tiny drainage hole is made in the sclera (the white part of the eye). The new drainage hole allows fluid to flow out of the eye into a filtering area called a bleb. The bleb is mostly hidden under the eyelid. When successful, the procedure will lower your introcular pressure (IOP), minimizing the risk of vision loss from glaucoma. The surgery is performed in an operating room on an outpatient basis.

Some of the risks and complications from the surgery include the following:

• • failure to control intraocular pressure, with the need for another operation
• • infection
• • bleeding or swelling in the eye
• • irritation or discomfort in the eye
• • eye pressure that is too low
• • cataract (in cases where cataract has not already been removed)
• • decreased or lost vision