Primary open-angle glaucoma is a syndrome of optic nerve damage associated with an open anterior chamber angle and an elevated or sometimes average intraocular pressure (IOP). Symptoms occur late and involve visual field loss. Diagnosis is by ophthalmoscopy, gonioscopy, visual field examination, and measurement of IOP.
Treatment includes topical drugs (eg, prostaglandin analogs, β-blockers) and often requires laser or incisional surgery to increase aqueous drainage. Recent reports identify that some 22% of diagnosed glaucoma patients become bilaterally blind within 20 years and 54% unilaterally blind.
Many new surgical technologies have developed in the last years to which TheraGenesis was able to contribute. These have included stent-like devices, surgically implanted within the angle of the anterior chamber and creating a channel to improve aqueous humor outflow and thus reduce intraocular pressure.