Uveitic Flare-Ups After Gonioscopy-Assisted Transluminal Trabeculotomy (GATT) in Patients with Uveitic Glaucoma

To assess the risk of gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy (GATT) inducing an uveitic flare-up in patients with uveitic glaucoma (UG).

This retrospective study included consecutive UG patients who underwent GATT at a single medical center between June 2020 and September 2022. The main outcome measure was the occurrence of a surgery-related uveitic complication defined as either an uveitic flare-up defined by the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) criteria, or the appearance of cystoid macular edema (CME) from 2 weeks to 3 months after surgery.

A total of 25 eyes of 22 patients were included in the study. Age ranged from 10-78 and 64% were women. The most common uveitic etiologies were juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA, 24%) and herpetic infection (24%). A total of 48%of the patients were on systemic immunosuppressants prior and unrelated to surgery. Eight eyes (32%) had severe glaucomatous damage prior to surgery, and 20% of the patients had undergone previous glaucoma surgery. Two cases (8%) demonstrated uveitic flare-up in the early postoperative period: a case of mild anterior chamber reaction and a case of CME with persistent edema prior to surgery. Average intraocular pressure (IOP) was reduced from 26.7 mm Hg on four medications to 12.2 on 1.1 after 1 year. One patient required reoperation for IOP control.

With careful pre and postoperative care, GATT seems to be a low-risk procedure for uveitic flare-ups in patients with UG.