To study surgical outcomes of patients with a minimum of 6 months of follow-up after undergoing combined phacoemulsification with either microhook ab interno trabeculotomy (μLOT-Phaco) or goniotomy using the Kahook Dual Blade (KDB-Phaco).
This retrospective comparative case series examined 22 μLOT-Phaco eyes and 81 KDB-Phaco eyes that underwent surgery between December 2016 and October 2018. Data collected from medical records included pre- and postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP), number of IOP-lowering medications and complication occurrence. Potential risk factors for failure were determined by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Surgical failure was defined as an IOP of > 20 mmHg, < 20% reduction in preoperative IOP or additional glaucoma surgery. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess success rates. Score matching used a genetic algorithm consisting of type of glaucoma.
Of 81 KDB-Phaco eyes, 22 eyes were matched to 22 μLOT-Phaco eyes. Mean IOP in the μLOT-Phaco group decreased from 24.7 ± 6.4 mmHg at baseline to 14.4 ± 3.0 mmHg (P < 0.01) and 13.0 ± 2.5 mmHg (P < 0.01) at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Mean IOP in the KDB-Phaco group decreased from 23.2 ± 5.4 mmHg to 15.8 ± 3.3 mmHg (P < 0.001) and 16.7 ± 2.1 mmHg (P < 0.001), respectively. Mean number of preoperative IOP-lowering medications in the μLOT-Phaco group at baseline was 3.7 ± 1.0, which decreased to 1.4 ± 1.5 (P < 0.01) at 12 months, while in the KDB-Phaco group it decreased from a baseline value of 3.3 ± 1.2 to 1.1 ± 1.4 (P < 0.01). Probability of qualified success at 12 months in the μLOT-Phaco and KDB-Phaco groups was 71.8% and 62.2%, respectively (P = 0.75). Similar postoperative complications were found between the groups.
Use of μLOT-Phaco and KDB-Phaco resulted in comparable IOPs and reductions in the number of medications.

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