Trabeculectomy is performed to lower the pressure inside your eye (intraocular pressure or IOP). Lowering the pressure helps to prevent further damage to the optic nerve and preserve your vision. Surgery is performed in patients whose IOP is uncontrolled with maximum medical therapy, who have a drug allergy, or whose glaucoma is progressing despite good IOP control. Patients may experience some discomfort, watering, or a foreign body sensation after the surgery — this is normal. Vision may be slightly blurry for a few days to weeks.
Patients will be given eye drops to prevent infection and reduce inflammation. They should avoid rubbing the eye, bending over, lifting heavy objects, or straining for a few weeks. A small bubble (called a “bleb”) may be visible on the white of the eye — this is where the fluid is draining. Patients should attend regular follow-up visits as advised — the doctor will check the eye pressure, look for signs of infection, bleb leaks, scarring, and assess how the new drainage site is functioning.
Additional procedures, such as suture lysis or bleb needling, may be done to improve drainage and maintain the target IOP. Trabeculectomy surgery has a success rate of around 70%. This procedure can be performed alone or combined with cataract surgery. It can be done for IOP reduction in any type of glaucoma.
Please note: The procedure only lowers eye pressure; it does not restore lost vision.
When the patient experiences:
