[Aqueous humor outflow capacity after argon laser trabeculoplasty. Preliminary report]

In a prospective study of 44 eyes with open angle-glaucoma and 27 with pseudocapsular glaucoma, the aqueous humor outflow facility was controlled for up to 12 months following argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT). The average increase in the facility of outflow, which was 70% in open-angle glaucoma, was 25% higher in pseudocapsular glaucoma. In successful ALT, this increase in outflow facility was established within the first 20 hours after coagulation and did not decrease during the following year. There were no major complications such as transitory elevations of intraocular pressure, hyphema, or severe uveitis; this fact is interpreted as a result of the authors' technique, in which only the light-pigmented trabecular meshwork is coagulated.