Five-Year Outcomes of Trabeculectomy and Phacotrabeculectomy

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine five-year outcomes of trabeculectomy and compare the stand-alone procedure when combined with phacoemulsification. Patients and methods This study included 123 eyes of 109 patients, with 79 patients in the trabeculectomy group and 44 patients in the phacotrabeculectomy group. Non-randomized comparative cohort study with data collected retrospectively from an existing database compiled by a single surgeon operating in Sydney, Australia from 2007 to 2019. The primary outcome measure was intraocular pressure. Secondary outcome measures were a number of glaucoma medications, treatment success rates, best-corrected visual acuity, bleb morphology, post-operative complications, and re-operation rate. Results The mean intraocular pressure was 10.6 ± 2.7 mm Hg in the trabeculectomy group (pre-operative mean intraocular pressure of 28.0 ± 9.8) and 12.0 ± 3.0 mm Hg in the phacotrabeculectomy group (pre-operative mean intraocular pressure of 23.4 ± 7.9) after five years (P = 0.052). The number of glaucoma medications required was 0.3 ± 0.7 in the trabeculectomy group (pre-operative mean of 3.7 ± 1.1) and 1.3 ± 1.2 in the phacotrabeculectomy group (pre-operative mean of 3.1 ± 1.0, P < 0.001). Conclusions Intraocular pressure reduction post-operatively over five years was similar between trabeculectomy and phacotrabeculectomy as determined by mean intraocular pressure, and intraocular pressure reduction from baseline. However, fewer supplemental glaucoma medications were required following trabeculectomy as compared to the combined procedure.