Long-Term Outcomes of Primary Trabeculectomy in Diabetic Patients without Retinopathy with Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma

Purpose. To evaluate primary trabeculectomy with adjunctive mitomycin-C (MMC) in diabetic patients without retinopathy with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). Design. This is a retrospective case series comparison. Participants. This retrospective trial compared outcomes of 88 eyes that underwent trabeculectomy in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) without retinopathy and in 97 patients without DM. Methods. In this study, the intraocular pressure (IOP), visual acuity, visual field, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Qualified surgical success is defined as an IOP between 6 and 18 mmHg with or without topical antiglaucoma medication. Results. After a follow-up of 5 years, the IOP decreased from a mean basal IOP of 27.8 ± 7.3 mmHg to 15.0 ± 5.6 mmHg in the DM group and from 27.3 ± 6.0 mmHg to 12.4 ± 5.3 mmHg in the control group. The mean number of antiglaucoma medications was 3.4 ± 1.3 and 3.3 ± 1.2 preoperatively (P = 0.587) whereas it was 1.7 ± 1.5 and 1.1 ± 1.4 at the 5-year follow-up (P = 0.049). The 5-year qualified surgical success rates were 42.9% and 65.4% for both groups (P = 0.046; log-rank test). Encysted blebs were seen in 21 (23.9%) patients in the DM group and in 12 (12.4%) patients in the control group (P = 0.041). Conclusion. PACG patients with DM without retinopathy undergoing primary trabeculectomy with MMC may have a lower long-term surgical survival rate compared with patients without DM.