HOW DOES LASER TRABECULOPLASTY WORK?
Neither the exact mechanism by which the drainage is clogged in glaucoma nor unclogged by laser is precisely understood. Although some lasers can cut holes in tissue, that mechanism is not used for treating the usual forms of open angle glaucoma in adults. The pressure lowering from laser trabeculoplasty occurs as a complex biological response of the drainage tissue to the laser energy. The heat of the laser may shrink and mechanically alter the shape or position of the tissue. Laser also alters the activity of the cells in the drainage area, probably stimulating their natural housecleaning, unclogging activity. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I HAVE LASER TRABECULOPLASTY? With laser trabeculoplasty, the laser is focused through a special contact lens prism to make tiny burns directly on the surface of the drainage tissue. About 50 to 100 such burn spots are placed over either half of the entire ring-shaped drainage area. Each spot is flashed for much less than a second and is pinpoint in size. Thus
