Difficult decisions, filtration surgery, and the heartbreak of the numerator

Abstract

A 70-year-old man had progressive and severe glaucoma in each eye. He was intolerant to dorzolamide, brimonidine, and netarsudil. Each eye had prior selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) as well as phacoemulsification plus minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) 6 years before current presentation (iStent [Glaukos Corp.] in the right eye and Cypass [Alcon Laboratories, Inc.] in the left eye). Postoperative acuities were 20/20 and 20/25 in the right and left eyes, respectively. When his left eye progressed with loss of central acuity despite peak intraocular pressures (IOPs) in the middle to upper teens, neuro-ophthalmology consultation was obtained (Figure 1 JOURNAL/jcrs/04.03/02158034-202401000-00017/figure1/v/2023-12-22T124801Z/r/image-tiff ). That workup included magnetic resonance imaging scan and hematologic screening, but all results were negative, and the neuro-ophthalmic consultant concluded that the vision loss was likely on the basis of glaucoma. Accordingly, a trabeculectomy was performed in the left eye achieving consistent IOPs in the range of 7 to 10 mm Hg without medications, rending the left eye stable since the filtration surgery nearly 2 years previously. The right eye continued to progress both subjectively and objectively, and on recent examination, the IOP measured 20 mm Hg and 09 mm Hg in the right and left eyes, respectively (Figure 2 JOURNAL/jcrs/04.03/02158034-202401000-00017/figure2/v/2023-12-22T124801Z/r/image-tiff ). Medications included timolol and latanoprostene bunod in the right eye only. Central corneal thickness was 526 μm and 527 μm in the right and left eyes, respectively. The visual acuity now measured 20/25 in the right eye and 20/250 in the left eye. The vertical cup-to-disc ratio was 0.9 in the right eye and 1.0 in the left eye. Gonioscopy revealed a wide open angle in each eye with a patent sclerostomy superiorly in the left eye. The conjunctiva and sclera were healthy and without scarring in the right eye. The bleb in the left eye was diffuse, lightly vascularized, and seidel negative. Axial length (AL) was 26.88 μm in the right eye and 26.77 μm in the left eye. The patient was in good health and was not anticoagulated. An extensive discussion ensued about the best course of action for the right eye. How would you proceed in managing definite progression in this individual's right eye, knowing that he had lost fixation in his left eye at similar pressures?