Combined Endoscope assisted Procedures (CEaP) as a complete treatment for neovascular glaucoma

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect and complications of Combined Endoscope assisted Procedures (CEaP): endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation and pars plana ablation (ECP-plus), along with endoscopic panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study design is a retrospective and noncomparative interventional case series from a tertiary referral center in Taiwan. Patients experiencing vessel growth at the iris and anterior chamber angle, along with an IOP > 21 mmHg were included. RESULTS: Twenty-five eyes from 23 patients were included over a 24-month period. After the procedures, all of them had a lower IOP value than their preoperative value. The mean IOP was 38.2± 7.1 mm Hg preoperatively, and 10.2± 4.7 mmHg (1 day), 13.8± 4.6 mmHg (1 week), 15.0± 5.3 mmHg (2 weeks), 17.4± 4.7 mmHg (1 month), 16.6± 4.1 mmHg (3 months), 16.0± 5.0 mmHg (6 months), and 15.7± 5.5 mmHg (12 months) postoperatively. At the 6th and 12th months, the IOP stabilized rate was 84% and 75%, respectively. Complications in the initial postoperative period (< 3 months) included uveitis (24%), and hyphema (16%), which were both resolved in the early postoperative period. Complications beyond 6 months included hypotony and phthisis bulbi in two patients (8%) in our study. There was no subject who suffered from retinal detachment, endophthalmitis or any other severe complications. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that CEaP offers positive results in IOP lowering and NV regression. Additionally, CEaP is a complete treatment for NVG in controlling IOP and NV growth. The IOP lowering effects can be sustained upon completion of the treatment.