Laser Iridotomy

Abstract

While surgical peripheral iridectomy is a simple, uncomplicated and well-established procedure for. the therapy of pupillary block glaucoma, the last ten years have seen the replacement of this procedure by use of lasers in many centers. The early reports of Khuri (1973), Abraham and Miller (1975), and Pollack and Patz (1976) represented studies of the early success at routine utilization of laser energy to produce iris holes. This report will not deal in any depth with the history of the development of this technique-obviously, as with any new modality, the most common finding is that a number of insightful investigators contributed. With the extensive experience we have now had with the procedure, this exposition can concentrate upon the relative indications for laser iridotomy, some brief aspects of the methods demonstrated to be most useful so far, results, complications, and future research needed.