Cyclo-cryotherapy for the management of absolute glaucoma in rural areas

Ciliary body destruction has been performed with many techniques with considerable differences in efficacy and complication rates. Among these methods, cyclo-cryotherapy is noninvasive, Simple and very economical to treat uncontrolled IOP in refractory absolute glaucoma.

To assess the efficacy of cyclo-cryotherapy, in painful blind refractory absolute glaucoma.

Prospective study of 34 patients with blind refractory absolute glaucoma who were treated with Cyclocryotherapy. Cyclo-cryotherapy treatments were performed with retinal cryoprobe of 3.3 mm diameter. The temperature of each Cyclo-cryotherapy spot was -80°C and each spot was maintained in Place for 60 seconds. Four Cyclo-cryotherapy spots were placed in each quadrant. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to find the difference between preoperative and postoperative intraocular pressure.

The mean baseline pretreatment intraocular pressure (IOP) in all eyes was 59.76+/-5.14 mmHg, which was decreased to a mean IOP at last follow-up of 16.29 +/-2.42 mmHg.

Cyclo-cryotherapy is a simple effective procedure to lower IOP and is a reasonable treatment option for refractory absolute glaucoma patients who experience with ocular pain and headaches, in rural health care setup.