Primary lens extraction for glaucoma management: A review article

Recently, primary lens extraction alone gained more acceptance as an alternative surgical approach for glaucoma management. This view was supported by the advances in phacoemulsification and intraocular lenses with greater safety and visual recovery, in addition to a substantial reduction of intraocular pressure and deepening of the anterior chamber and filtration angle. The decrease in IOP after cataract surgery in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is mild, less predictable, related to baseline levels, and may return to presurgical values after an initial period of reduction. Therefore, the IOP-lowering effect of primary cataract extraction in POAG may be insufficient to achieve adequate IOP control. The IOP reduction after lens extraction is consistently greater in eyes with primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) than in eyes with POAG. Primary lens extraction in acute PACG eliminates, or at least, reduces the risk of recurrence of acute attacks and deepens the anterior chamber and widens the angle which reduces the risk of progression of peripheral anterior synechiae and development of chronic PACG. Primary lens extraction may be more preferable to glaucoma incisional surgery in mild to moderate PACG eyes with appositional angle closure. The decision to do lens extraction as a primary treatment for glaucoma should be individualized based upon several factors other than the effect on IOP. These factors include patients' characteristics, surgeons' skills and preferences, status of glaucoma control, type of cataract and intraocular lens implanted, and potential harm of laser treatment for late capsular opacification and fibrosis.