[Results of preventive Nd:YAG laser iridotomy of the partner eye in glaucoma]

Recent findings suggest that prophylactic ND:YAG laser iridotomy constitutes a valuable therapeutic alternative for the prevention of acute glaucoma in the unaffected eye of a patient with one glaucomatous eye. In our study we tried to evaluate the effectiveness of this non-surgical treatment. We examined 23 patients between 34 and 89 years of age. The clinical course was documented by the assessment of intraocular pressure and visual acuity, slit-lamp examination and gonioscopy. Throughout the entire follow-up period not a single glaucoma attack occurred. In 20 eyes the intraocular pressure remained normal in the absence of any supportive therapy. There was no change in visual acuity and no synechiae or alterations of the anterior chamber were observed. It therefore seems that prophylactic ND:YAG laser iridotomy is a valuable therapeutic procedure for the prevention of acute glaucoma in the fellow eye of one already found to be affected by glaucoma.