Probability of filtration surgery in patients with open-angle glaucoma

Objective: To investigate the probability of undergoing filtration surgery in either 1 or both eyes in patients in whom open-angle glaucoma was newly diagnosed. Methods and Design: A retrospective community-based study of 295 residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, in whom open-angle glaucoma was newly diagnos ed between January 1, 1965, and December 31, 1980, was performed. Kaplan-Me ier methods were used to estimate the cumulative probability of undergoing filtration surgery during a 20-year period. Results: At 20 years of follow-up, the Kaplan-Meier cumulative probability of undergoing filtration surgery in at least 1 eye was estimated to be 23% (95% confidence interval, 16%-30%), and in both eyes the estimate was 12% ( 95% confidence interval, 6%-17%). Patients with optic nerve damage at the t ime of diagnosis were more likely to undergo surgery than patients with ele vated intraocular pressure but no damage (1 eye, 39% vs 15%; both eyes, 27% vs 5%). Conclusion: This retrospective study of a white population newly diagnosed as having and treated for open-angle glaucoma indicates that while most pat ients did not undergo filtration surgery in the course of glaucoma therapy, at least one third of those with glaucomatous damage at the time of diagno sis underwent filtration surgery.