Purpose: To determine the course of the intraocular pressure in eyes in whi
ch cataract surgery was performed after trabeculectomy. Methods: This was a
retrospective study of consecutive patients who were scheduled for routine
cataract surgery. The patients had previously undergone glaucoma filtering
surgery. Pre- and postoperative data were evaluated. Both the status of gl
aucoma and the increase in visual acuity were monitored. Results: Patients
operated on over a six-year period were enrolled. The mean interval between
glaucoma surgery and cataract surgery was 58.1 months. The mean duration o
f follow-up after cataract surgery was 31.4 months, with a minimum of 12 mo
nths. The mean central visual acuity increased by 4 lines. Before cataract
surgery, 53% of the eyes had complete success (group 1), while 28% had qual
ified success (group 2) and the remaining 19% were failures (group 3). From
group 1, 61% remained a complete success until the last visit. No eye of g
roup I developed a failure. In group 2, 23% were a complete success at the
final follow-up, while 4% failed. In group 3, only 35% were failures while
the remaining 65% were a complete or qualified success. Conclusions: Eyes w
ith a well-controlled intraocular pressure following trabeculectomy seem to
have a favorable prognosis after subsequent cataract surgery. Eyes with qu
alified success or failure before cataract surgery have a slight chance of
improvement in intraocular pressure control. Cataract surgery had no marked
ly negative effect on the intraocular pressure overall. Performing trabecul
ectomy and cataract surgery at different times may still be a feasible opti
on as opposed to combined procedures.