Surgical management of the secondary glaucomas: Part I

Surgical approaches to the secondary glaucomas vary depending on the pathogenesis and stage of the disease. In this first part, neovascular glaucoma management is reviewed. Panretinal ablation by laser or cryopexy and goniophotocoagulation used to reverse neovascularization are helpful, but not permanently curative. Filtering surgery is not as successful for neovascular glaucoma as it is for the primary adult glaucomas. Therefore, modifications using 5-fluorouracil, carbon dioxide lasers, and alloplastic implants have been investigated. Although ciliary body ablation using cryotherapy or photocoagulation may reduce intraocular pressure, vision may still deteriorate.