Procedural treatments: Endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation

Abstract

The indication for performing ECP is glaucoma that has been refractory to medical and/or filtering surgery [1-9]. Many types of glaucoma have been treated with ECP, including primary open-angle, pseudo - exfoliation, neovascular, pediatric, and angle-closure. In a prospective comparative Brazilian study of ECP vs. Ahmed valve in 68 patients with intraocular pressure (IOP) greater than 35 mmHg on maximally tolerated medications, ECP was found to be an effective surgery for various forms of glaucoma with fewer complications. After 24 months follow-up, the probability of success and mean IOP was approximately equal between the two groups. The tube shunt group experienced more choroidal detachments and shallow anterior chambers, while the number of hyphemas was almost equal between groups. More eyes in the ECP group experienced significant inflammation. ECP has also been used in conjunction with cataract extraction as a primary glaucoma surgery [2-4, 10]. However, I do not typically use ECP as a primary glaucoma surgery, either alone or in conjunction with cataract extraction. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.