Titanium:sapphire Laser Trabeculoplasty Versus Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty in Patients with Open-angle Glaucoma

Background And Objective: To compare the medium-term outcome of titanium:sapphire laser trabeculoplasty (TLT) (SOLX, Inc., Waltham, MA) to argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) in patients with uncontrolled open-angle glaucoma.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-seven patients with open-angle glaucoma who had uncontrolled intraocular pressure and no previous filtration surgery participated. Eighteen patients were treated with TLT and 19 patients were treated with ALT. All patients underwent comprehensive eye and visual field examinations.

Results: The 18 patients in the TLT group had an average (+/- standard deviation) reduction of 8.3 (+/- 2.7) mm Hg, or 32%, from preoperative intraocular pressure (P < .001). The 19 patients in the ALT group had an average reduction of 6.5 (+/- 4.3) mm Hg, or 25%, from preoperative intraocular pressure (P < .001). Patients in both groups achieved a similar decrease in intraocular pressure (P > .05). Two patients (1 in each group) underwent trabeculectomy and were considered failures. Mean follow-up time was 15 months.

Conclusion: TLT provides similar efficacy to ALT in intraocular pressure reduction in patients with open-angle glaucoma. If confirmed in additional studies, TLT may be used as an alternative to ALT in patients with open-angle glaucoma.