Medical and surgical management of the glaucoma patient

Glaucoma usually causes rapid blindness in small animals and should be treated as a true ophthalmic emergency. Current treatment is directed toward decreasing intraocular pressure to protect the optic nerve and preserve vision. These treatment methods include various medical and surgical methods that are often combined for a particular patient. No magic drugs or surgeries exist to permanently control glaucoma; the clinician often has to switch to assorted methods of treatment after the previous treatments fail to control the intraocular pressure. Newer theories on the cause of glaucoma involve various vascular and toxic effects on the optic nerve rather than simple mechanical damage to the nerve from increased ocular pressure. Therefore, treatments designed to protect the optic nerve from biochemical alterations are probably the future of treating this challenging disease.