Raja Rengaraj, Sivakumar Veerasamy
BACKGROUND Cataract and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) are the leading causes of painless progressive loss of vision in the world. Surgery is the most productive and cost-effective treatment for patients suffering from Cataract and POAG. As the incidence and prevalence of Cataract with POAG is on the rise, the requirement of more skilful surgeons specialized in combined surgery is the need of the hour. The objectives of this study were- 1) to develop a simple and effective technique in surgical treatment for cataract and glaucoma. 2) to make it easier to transform from being a cataract surgeon alone to a combined cataract and glaucoma surgeon. 3) To compare the outcome of single site cataract surgery and trabeculectomy over two site surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS Over two-years period, 30 patients diagnosed as cataract with primary open angle glaucoma underwent single site or two site combined small incision cataract surgery and trabeculectomy and were subjected to IOP measurement before and after surgery. The mean Intraocular pressure before and after surgery was compared to arrive at the results. Intra-operative and immediate post-operative complications are noted. Filtering bleb formation is noted. RESULTS Reduction of mean IOP by 5.7 mmHg (22%) in the single site surgery group compared to simple trabeculectomy and two site surgery was seen. No significant intra-operative and post-operative complications were experienced in single site surgery. Filtering bleb formation is seen in all cases who underwent single site surgery in the immediate post-operative period. CONCLUSION The single site combined small incision cataract surgery and trabeculectomy is an effective, easier and less time-consuming technique that can be mastered by every sutureless cataract surgeon.
