Eye institute does rare surgery for Glaucoma

Bhubaneswar: A leading eye institute Thursday claimed to have created history by being the first in East India to perform Viscocanalostomy, a type of non-penetrating glaucoma filtration surgery.

Dr Aparna Rao, Glaucoma consultant at L V Prasad Eye Institute in Bhubaneswar told reporters here that she performed this surgery on three patients, aged between 38 to 62 years, in February this year.

This technique targets the Schlemm's canal, which is the main pathway for drainage of fluid or "aqueous" out of the eye. The technique requires much more surgical expertise in identifying the Schlemm's canal, she said.

It is a good alternative for specific patients who have higher risk of complications when operated with standard procedure for glaucoma called Trabeculectomy, she said.

Narrating her experience on handling these cases, Dr Rao said Viscocanalostomy may help lower the number of anti- glaucoma medications needed to achieve target Intra Ocular Pressure.

Viscocanalostomy is advantageous in patients with the risk of hypotony, or low intraocular pressure related complications, especially young patients with juvenile open angle glaucoma and children, a release issued by the institute said.

Glaucoma is seen as the leading cause of irreversible blindness in India. It is a disorder associated with pressure in the eye, and is characterised by damage to the optic nerve leading to irreversible blindness.

The disorder is not a single disease, but has multiple causes, with a final common insult, which is injury to the optic nerve, it said.

In India, every eighth individual or nearly 40 million aged 40 years or older either has glaucoma or is at risk of developing the disease.

A total of 11.2 million Indians suffer from the disease with 1.1 million afflicted by blindness, including children, it said.