Endoscopic laser cyclophotocoagulation, safety, and efficacy of clinical application

Background. Combined surgical treatment in patients with refractory glaucoma and cataract allows achieving stable compensation of intraocular pressure and having a significant improvement in visual functions. Purpose. To study of some aspects of efficacy and safety of combined endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) with cataract phacoemulsification. Material and methods. 87 patients with uncompensated open-angle glaucoma at various stages. They were treated with ECP and cataract extraction. Among them were 40 (50.57 %) men and 43 (49.49 %) women. The follow-up period is from 6 to 60 months. The mean age of the patients was 73.78 years. Results.At the end of the follow-up period, there was a significant decrease in the mean IOP to 18.2 ± 1.5 mmHg, in comparison with the initial level of 24.1 ± 3.2 mmHg (p < 0.0001). Full success achieved in 46.6 % (34 eyes). Partial success (reduction of IOP to 21 mmHg and below) was achieved in 51.3 % (40 eyes). The number of topical glaucoma drugs used also significantly decreased from 2.5 ± 1.0 to 1.9 ± 1.0 (p = 0.001). Moderately pronounced postoperative iridocyclitis found in 25.64 % of cases. Reaction in the aqueous humor was detected in 100 % of cases. The analysis revealed no statistically significant difference (p ≥ 0.3) in the inflammatory reaction between phacoemulsification combined with endoscopic laser cyclophotocoagulation (11.2 ± 7.2) and patients who did not register such bioeffects (10.8 ± 6.5). Conclusion.ECP can be considered as a more significant component of the MIGS conception.