Trabeculectomy is a surgical procedure used in the treatment of glaucoma to relieve intraocular pressure (IOP) by removing part of the eye’s trabecular meshwork.

Professor Gazzard may recommend a trabeculectomy if your IOP is unresponsive to standard glaucoma treatments such as laser trabeculoplasty or eye-drops..

The surgery takes place in hospital, using either local or general anaesthesia. Professor Gazzard makes a small hole in the eye wall (sclera) which is then covered by a thin trap-door in the sclera. The fluid inside the eye (the aqueous humour), drains through the trap-door to a small reservoir or bleb just under the surface of the eye behind the eyelid.

This restores the eye’s ability to drain fluid and reduces the pressure on the optic nerve. It won’t cure any glaucoma-related vision loss experienced before the procedure, but it may help to slow or stop progressive vision loss in the future.

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If you’d like to know more about this and other treatments available for Glaucoma, or think that you may benefit from a consultation, please get in touch here.