Success criteria and success rates in trabeculectomy with and without intraoperative antimetabolites using intensified postoperative care (IPC)

Purpose: To define the success rate of trabeculectomy for surgical treatment of glaucoma under intensified postoperative care (IPC) conditions in cases of severe visual field damage or progression of visual field loss. Methods: In a retrospective study, we evaluated the outcome of trabeculectomy in 99 eyes of 99 patients from October 1995 to June 1997. Tn 23 eves, antimetabolites were used intraoperatively. Regarding intraocular pressure (IOP), success was defined as lowering the preoperative, maximally treated IOP by more than 20% in addition to a postoperative IOP level lower than 21 mmHg without using further glaucoma medication. Success rate was defined by stabilisation of visual acuity and visual field in addition to IOP reduction. Results: The post operative IOP was 14.7 mmHg (+/-3.4 mmHg) following standard trabeculectomy (preoperative IOP 24.3+/-6.7 mmHg) and 15.8 mmHg (+/-4.9 mmHg) following trabeculectomy with intraoperative antimetabolites (preoperative IOP 27.0+/-9.5 mmHg). The success rate concerning the IOP was 83% in standard trabeculectomy and 74% following trabeculectomy with intraoperative antimetabolites. The visual acuity showed stabilisation in 93% of cases following standard trabeculectomy and in 100% following trabeculectomy with intraoperative antimetabolites. The visual field showed stabilisation according to the Aulhorn criteria in 95% and 94% of cases following standard trabeculectomy and trabeculectomy with intraoperative antimetabolites, respectively. The total success rate using all criteria together was 76% following standard trabeculectomy and 74% following trabeculectomy with intraoperative antimetabolites. Conclusion: The overall outcome after trabeculectomy is good with appropriate follow-up and timely decisions for after-treatment to ensure good development of the filtering bleb.