Lanzhou University Second Hospital carried out the first iTraclc fiber optic 360-degree goniotomy operation to treat an infant on March 17. At present, the infant has been discharged from the hospital, marking that the hospital pioneers congenital glaucoma treatment in China.
The infant’s mother found that the infant was often tearing and sensitive to light, and its corneas and eyeballs were obviously larger. Several hospitals in Qinghai Province diagnosed the infant with congenital glaucoma. The situation was not better after a long period of treatment. Finally, the family came to Lanzhou University Second Hospital where Lv Peng carried out the iTraclc fiber optic 360-degree goniotomy operation for the infant on March 17, which proved a success.
News background:
Congenital glaucoma is evident either at birth or within the first few years of life. This condition is caused by abnormalities in anterior chamber angle development that obstruct aqueous outflow in the absence of systemic anomalies. Corneal cloudiness may have a myriad of causes. Corneal opacity that results from hereditary dystrophies is usually symmetric. Corneal enlargement may result from megalocornea, a condition in which the diameter of the cornea is larger than usual and the eye is otherwise normal.
The preferred treatment of congenital glaucoma is surgical not medical. The initial procedures of choice are goniotomy or trabeculotomy if the cornea is clear, and trabeculectomy ab externo if the cornea is hazy. The success rates are similar for both procedures in patients with clear corneas. Trabeculectomy and shunt procedures should be reserved for those cases in which goniotomy or trabeculectomy has failed.
Cyclophotocoagulation is necessary in some intractable cases but should be avoided whenever possible because of its potential adverse effects on the lens and the retina.
Before this case, iTraclc fiber optic 360-degree goniotomy operation have only been carried out in a few U.S. hospitals. To find a better therapeutic treatment for congenital glaucoma, Lv Peng spent half a year at Oklahoma Dean McGee Eye Institute to study this operation. Approved by Hospital Ethics Committee in November 2013, Lanzhou University Second Hospital successfully carried out the first iTraclc fiber optic 360-degree goniotomy operation China.
(Translated by Yu Yin, Proofread by Lawrence Xu)
