[Selective laser trabeculoplasty].

The prospective clinical study of the selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) by means the Coherent Selecta 7000 laser (wave length 532 nm) was conducted. Totally 108.7 +/- 18.3 laser non-overlapping spots (mean energy level 1.04 +/- 0.22 mJ) along the whole circle of the trabecular meshwork in the anterior chamber angle were applied. The study included 258 eyes of 146 patients (50 of them were men) with glaucoma. The mean age of the whole group was 55.9 +/- 13.7 years. The group of unsuccessfully treated patients (30 patients, 41 eyes) in whom the intraocular pressure (IOP) elevated from 23.2 +/- 3.7 mm Hg in 4.7% (measured 493 +/- 474 days after the treatment) during the follow up, was removed from the study. In the group with good response to the SLT, 116 patients (217 eyes) were evaluated 650 +/- 405 days after treatment. Before treatment, in this group the IOP was 23.9 +/- 3.0 mm Hg, at the end of the study the IOP was lowered by 4.5 +/- 2.9 mm Hg, in total by 18.6%. IOP decrease was more pronounced in patients with higher level of IOP at the beginning. Immediately after SLT, no significant rising of the IOP level was recorded. Selective laser trabeculoplasty preserves the integrity of the trabecular meshwork of the anterior chamber angle, and is a safe and clinically effective method of treatment of different forms of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.