A new glaucoma implant treatment may provide a more efficient and well-tolerated treatment option for some people with glaucoma and help reduce ophthalmology waiting lists.
The New Zealand Herald reported that at the end of 2016 there were more than 20,000 New Zealanders overdue for an ophthalmology appointment.
Glaucoma New Zealand chair and eye surgeon Professor Helen Danesh-Mayer said strategies that free up ophthalmologists to treat more patients and make life simpler for glaucoma patients are of interest. And that includes a new injectable glaucoma gel implant now available for people with primary open-angle glaucoma and whose condition is not well-managed with glaucoma drops. The majority of the country’s 560 glaucoma surgeries a year are trabeculectomies and researchers using the XEN glaucoma gel implant believe about three gel implants can be done in the same time required for one trabulectomy.
“We need to see more surgical options which are both better tolerated and more efficient,” said Danesh-Meyer. “This may have the dual benefit of decreasing the morbidity and recovery time following surgery as well as increasing availability of clinic time so that more patients can be seen in an appropriate timeframe to minimise the risk of life-changing consequences due to delayed treatment.
Glaucoma affects 10% of New Zealanders over the age of 70 with primary open angle glaucoma being the most common form.
