Long term follow-up of the argon laser trabeculoplasty in eyes treated 180 degrees and 360 degrees of the trabeculum.

The results obtained with the Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT) on 196 eyes with an average follow-up period of 5.24 years (maximum 9 years) have been reviewed. Of the 123 eyes treated with 75-115 burns in the 360 degrees of the trabecular meshwork, 71 eyes were successful with a follow-up of 64.3 +/- 28.3 months (mean +/- SD). This treatment reduced the previous anti-glaucomatous medical treatment in 35 eyes (28.5%). The remaining 73 eyes were treated with 40-60 burns in 180 degrees of the trabeculum, 38.4% (28 eyes) were successful therapeutically with a follow-up of 56.5 +/- 23.1 months. The treatment reduced the additional medical treatment in 9 eyes (12.3%). The comparison of these results and the survival curves of both groups showed statistically significant differences in favour of the treatment on 360 degrees of the trabeculum.