PURPOSE: To study the pattern of IOP changes following Nd-YAG capsulotomy for PCO and to calculate the percentage of patients requiring antiglaucoma medication following YAG laser capsulotomy.
Study Design: Prospective study
Material and Methods: The study was conducted in the department of ophthalmology in GMC Jammu. Patients who complained of diminution of vision due to posterior capsule opacification were enrolled. 50 patients who underwent Nd-YAG laser posterior capsulotomy were taken. After Nd: YAG, IOP was recorded after 1hr, 4hrs, weekly till 1 month to look for any pressure spike. Cases were followed upto 3 months to look for cystoid macular oedema, IOP rise, persistent iritis, vitritis, pitting of IOL and retinal detachment.
Result: It was observed that intraocular pressure starts rising immediately after Nd-YAG, reaching a peak at 3-4 hours. It remains elevated at 24 hrs and returns to baseline in 1-week duration in most cases. Immediate IOP rise occurred in 21(42%) cases. At the end of 1 week, 6(12%) patients still had raised IOP. At 2 weeks, 3 cases showed high IOP among whom 2 returned to prelaser values at 1 month. Only 1 case had high IOP after 1-month duration. Only 1(2%) patient developed IOP elevation of >5 mm hg from prelaser values which did not return to baseline even after 1 month of laser and hence required antiglaucoma medication. Hence, according to this study 2% of cases require antiglaucoma medication to counter IOP rise following Nd-YAG.
CONCLUSION: - IOP elevation associated with Nd: YAG laser is often transient without long-term damage and is typically observed within 2 to 4 hours after treatment. However, sometimes, IOP may rise high, requiring additional intervention. Hence it is important to monitor IOP post-YAG-Laser and do appropriate intervention to prevent unwanted consequences from raised IOP.
Key words: PCO, Nd-YAG, phacoemulsification
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