Glaucoma
When is glaucoma surgery needed?
Glaucoma surgery is considered when eye pressure stays too high despite drops and laser, when the optic nerve continues to be damaged, when advanced disease needs a much lower pressure, or when drops cannot be tolerated or used reliably. Surgery aims to protect remaining vision by creating a better route for fluid to leave the eye.
The main surgical options
- Trabeculectomy, which creates a controlled new drainage channel under the conjunctiva
- Glaucoma drainage device surgery, which implants a small tube and plate to carry fluid away
- Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, or MIGS, which uses small devices or techniques to improve the eye's own drainage, often combined with cataract surgery
- Cataract surgery alone, which can lower pressure in some eyes with narrow angles
How the choice is made
Your ophthalmologist weighs how advanced the glaucoma is, the pressure you need to reach, the type of glaucoma and the state of the drainage angle, whether you also have cataract, previous eye surgery and your general health. Trabeculectomy and drainage devices reach the lowest pressures. MIGS offers a gentler recovery with a more modest pressure reduction.
What surgery can and cannot do
Surgery lowers pressure and is intended to slow or halt further damage. It does not restore vision already lost and it is not a cure, so reviews continue afterwards. No operation can guarantee an outcome, and the risks and benefits for your particular eyes will be explained before you consent.
Recovery in outline
Most glaucoma surgery is done as a day case with local anaesthesia. Vision is usually blurred for some weeks while the eye settles, and frequent review visits in the first two to three months allow the drainage to be adjusted. You will use anti inflammatory drops during healing, and you will be advised to avoid heavy lifting, swimming and rubbing the eye.
When to seek urgent assessment
- Increasing pain, sudden drop in vision, heavy discharge or a very red eye after glaucoma surgery, at any point
Frequently asked questions
- Will I still need drops after surgery?
- Sometimes. Many people need fewer drops or none, but some continue on treatment to hold the target pressure.
- Is surgery done on both eyes at once?
- Normally one eye is operated on at a time, so healing can be assessed before the other eye is treated.
Concerned about these symptoms?
Arrange an eye examination with our consultant ophthalmologist in Garki, Abuja.
Care at Standard Eye
Related answers
- What is a trabeculectomy?
- What is a glaucoma drainage device?
- What is MIGS, or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery?
- How do glaucoma eye drops work?
Return to all glaucoma answers.