SURGICAL RESULTS OF TRABECULOTOMY AB EXTERNO FOR DEVELOPMENTAL GLAUCOMA

Objective: To elucidate long-term surgical outcome of trabeculotomy ah externo in the treatment of developmental glaucoma. Patients: Included in this retrospective study are 116 eves of 71 patients with developmental glaucoma. We classified patients into three groups based on their age: congenital (33 eyes), existing before age 2 months; infantile (31 eves) occurring from ages 2 months to 2 years; and juvenile (52 eyes), age 2 years or older. Results: A life-table analysis showed that the total success probabilities at 5 and 10 years with one or more trabeculotomy ab externo operations were, respectively, 92.5%+/-2.7% and 76.5%+/-6.2%. The success probability of patients with congenital glaucoma (60.3%+/-15.9%) was significantly lower than it was for those viith infantile (96.3%+/-3.6%) or juvenile (76.4%+/-7.5%) glaucoma (P<.01 for both). Conclusions: Surgical results of trabeculotomy ah externo remain effective for a long time. Congenital glaucoma has the worst prognosis, and infantile glaucoma has a better prognosis than does juvenile glaucoma.