IOP decrease after trabeculectomy may slow or reverse rate of visual field decay

NEWPORT, R.I. — Clinical observation of visual sensitivity improvement after a robust decrease in IOP is not a rare phenomenon, nor is such improvement a new idea, according to a speaker. Joseph Caprioli, MD, added support to the observations with study results at the American Ophthalmological Society meeting, hypothesizing that retinal ganglion cells may be “sick but not dead” and that pressure reduction with trabeculectomy in patients with open-angle glaucoma may not only slow the rate of glaucomatous visual field damage, but also reverse it.