Management of Glaucoma Following Intraocular Procedures

The development of glaucoma can occur postoperatively from corneal/refractive, cataract, and vitreoretinal surgery. Additionally, glaucoma may be noted after clinical procedures have been performed, including injections and laser procedures. This chapter is organized into two basic sections: postoperative and post-procedure glaucoma. Background: Currently little is known about the effect of refractive surgery in glaucoma patients or about patients who undergo refractive procedures and may go on to develop glaucoma. •IOP measurement •Measurement of IOP after refractive surgery can be challenging. Corneal properties that are altered after refractive surgery include corneal thickness, corneal curvature, the structural integrity (stiffness or hysteresis), as well as the overlying tear film that interacts with instruments that measure IOP. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) additionally ablates portions of Bowman’s layer, which may change corneal resistance. Nomograms have been developed to adjust for IOP change after corneal alteration but usually take only corneak thickness into account, which has led to little success in their use. •Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) assumes corneal thickness = 520 microns. Thicker corneas will overestimate IOP and thinner corneas, which result from refractive procedures such as PRK and LASIK, will underestimate IOP. Therefore, GAT may have limited value in measuring true IOP following refractive surgery. Other tonometric devices, like Pascal dynamic contour tonometry, pneumatonometry, and the Reichert ocular response analyzer, may be more accurate. There does not appear to be any simple conversion table that can be referenced in correcting measured IOP after the cornea is altered surgically. Preoperative IOP is probably the most important variable that should be recorded. •The intraoperative pressure spike associated with LASIK may occur in select patients, leading to the development of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. • Pressure-induced stromal keratitis (PISK) is a condition related to steroid-induced elevated IOP that may occur after LASIK. The clinical appearance is similar to diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK), where there is a diffuse interlamellar haze covering the flap. DLK is an inflamatory response where IOP is not elevated and requires topical steroid treatment for resolution.