Surgical outcomes of phacoemulsification/goniosynechialysis with and without endocyclophotocoagulation in patients with chronic angle closure glaucoma

PURPOSE: To compare surgical outcomes of patients after phacoemulsification with goniosynechialysis (phaco/GSL) versus phaco with GSL and endocyclophotocoagulation (phaco/GSL/ECP) in patients with chronic angle closure glaucoma (CACG) through 12-month follow-up. METHODS: A retrospective, nonrandomized, comparative case series was performed. Patients with CACG who underwent phaco in combination with either GSL alone (group 1) or GSL with ECP with intracameral injection of kenalog (group 2) from 2011 to 2018 were included. Group 1 included 6 eyes of 6 patients and group 2 included 11 eyes of 10 patients. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon (RSA). Primary outcome measures included changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), visual acuity (VA), failure based on IOP (>18 or <6 mmHg at 1 year), and secondary operative procedures and complication rates. Data were analyzed using a paired two-tailed T-test. RESULTS: The mean preoperative IOP decreased from 23.5 ± 11.2 to 14.2 ± 2.4 mmHg (P < 0.0073) in group 1 and 24.4 ± 8.2 to 14.5 ± 2.7 mmHg (P < 0.0001) in group 2. The mean % IOP reduction was 33.7% in group 1 and 34.2% in group 2. The mean improvement in VA (logMAR units) was 0.24 (P = 0.085) in group 1 and 0.13 (P = 0.657) in group 2. The mean number of topical meds decreased from 2.50 ± 1.76 to 1.80 ± 1.64 in group 1 (P = 0.513) and from 2.82 ± 1.25 to 1.17 ± 0.98 in group 2 (P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Phaco/GSL and phaco/GSL/ECP both achieve a significant reduction in IOP without the complications associated with traditional glaucoma filtration surgeries.