Long-term outcome of trabeculotomy for the treatment of developmental glaucoma.

OBJECTIVE To elucidate long-term outcome of trabeculotomy in primary and secondary developmental glaucoma. METHODS One hundred forty-nine eyes of 89 patients with developmental glaucoma who underwent trabeculotomy were retrospectively studied. Intraocular pressure (IOP), success probabilities, visual acuities, and visual field were determined during follow-up and at the final visit. RESULTS The mean +/- SD IOP of 112 eyes with primary developmental glaucoma at the final visit with an mean +/- SD follow-up period of 9.5 +/- 7.1 years was 15.6 +/- 5.0 mm Hg. The average IOP for 37 eyes with secondary developmental glaucoma was 16.7 +/- 4.2 mm Hg. One hundred eyes (89.3%) with primary developmental glaucoma were defined as achieving success at the final visit. Complete and qualified successes were achieved in 71 eyes (63.4%) and 29 eyes (25.9%), respectively. Visual acuities were 20/40 or better in 78 (59.5%) of 131 eyes examined and were poorer than 20/200 in 32 eyes (24.4%). The causes of poor visual acuities were mainly progression of glaucoma, including delay of detection of onset or surgery and amblyopia. Eyes with glaucoma that existed before 2 months of age or eyes that needed several trabeculotomies were considered to have poor visual acuity. Visual fields were classified as normal or almost normal in 21 (44.7%) of 47 eyes. CONCLUSIONS Trabeculotomy for developmental glaucoma is effective over a long time. There is a fairly good prognosis for visual function of eyes with developmental glaucoma with early detection of the onset, proper treatment, and proper management after trabeculotomy.