Trabeculectomy versus combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy in pediatric glaucoma.
Objective: To compare outcomes between trabeculectomy and combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy in children with glaucoma.
Methods: This was a retrospective, comparative study of 40 eyes in 33 patients with pediatric glaucoma: 17 eyes treated with trabeculectomy and 23 eyes treated with combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy. Both groups were treated with intraoperative mitomycin C. Success was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) of 21 mm Hg or less and greater than 5 mm Hg with no additional glaucoma surgery.
Results: Mean follow-up was 38.3 months. There was no significant difference in mean IOP lowering between groups during the follow-up period. Log-rank survival analysis showed a significantly higher success rate after combined surgery compared with trabeculectomy (P = .027). Treatment failures occurred in 5 patients with trabeculectomy and in 2 patients undergoing combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy. Failures resulted from increased IOP (n = 3) or hypotony (n = 4). There were no significant differences in complications observed after surgery in both groups.
Conclusions: Trabeculectomy and combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy with mitomycin C were equally effective at lowering average IOP in children. Combined trabeculotomy-trabeculectomy was associated with greater long-term success.