Short-term results of canaloplasty surgery for primary open-angle glaucoma in Japanese patients

To report surgical results of canaloplasty surgery for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Japanese patients.

Eleven eyes of 9 POAG patients underwent canalopasty surgery at Toyama University Hospital. Three eyes of 3 patients underwent canaloplasty alone and 8 eyes of 6 patients underwent canaloplasty combined with cataract surgery. Canaloplasty was performed with a 10-0 polypropylene tensioning suture and an iTrack™ 250A microcatheter. All patients were followed up for 12 months. Changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and postoperative complications were examined.

Mean preoperative IOP was 23.4 ± 5.5 mm Hg. Mean number of antiglaucoma drops was 2.8 ± 0.6 before canaloplasty and decreased to 1.2 ± 0.8 at 12 months after canaloplasty (p < 0.01). Mean IOP decreased postoperatively, being 13.7 ± 2.8 mm Hg at 1 month, 12.8 ± 3.5 mm Hg at 3 months, 14.0 ± 4.4 mm Hg at 6 months, and 15.0 ± 4.1 mm Hg at 12 months. The most frequent postoperative complication was mild hyphema (45.5%), which disappeared within 14 days after surgery.

Canaloplasty may be an alternative surgery for POAG patients to reduce IOP to a value of approximately 15 mm Hg.