How to improve glaucoma in infants and young children

Among infants and young children with glaucoma, a considerable number suffer from congenital glaucoma, which can be effectively controlled. Clinically, about 80% of congenital glaucoma patients can minimize their visual impairment through active surgical treatment, and their condition will gradually stabilize. Congenital glaucoma is very harmful to the health of children. Timely treatment can avoid more serious vision damage and is beneficial to the child's future growth and development as well as mental health.

Infantile glaucoma is a congenital glaucoma caused by abnormal development of the anterior chamber angle during the embryonic period, which hinders the outflow of aqueous humor. This disease is a hereditary disease. There are more men than women. Most cases occur in both eyes, with unilateral disease accounting for about 25-30%. About 80% develop symptoms and signs within 1 year of age, and the rest show them between 1 and 6 years of age. Its main manifestations include photophobia, tearing, blepharospasm, corneal enlargement, edema, opacity, rupture of the posterior Descemet's membrane, and increased intraocular pressure. This disease is not sensitive to drug treatment and is mainly treated with surgery. If diagnosed early and treated surgically early, the intraocular pressure can be controlled in about 80% of patients.

Surgical treatment is the mainstay. Once diagnosed, goniotomy, trabeculotomy or trabeculectomy should be performed as soon as possible. The therapeutic effect of intraocular pressure-lowering drugs on this disease is limited and they are only used as preoperative preparation, or as intermittent treatment between two operations, and to delay visual function damage after surgical failure. Once the disease is diagnosed, surgical treatment should be performed as soon as possible. Goniotomy or trabeculotomy is preferred. In case of failure or advanced stage, filtering surgery such as trabeculectomy can be performed.

For infantile glaucoma or congenital glaucoma, surgical treatment is the best method. Drug treatment generally lacks sensitivity. When performing surgery, it is best to choose trabeculotomy. This surgical method has become one of the important treatments for congenital glaucoma. It is necessary to actively control the disease in infancy and avoid the disease from developing into adolescence as much as possible.