A cross-sectional study on the complications of inferotemporal laser peripheral iridotomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of dysphotopsia and other associated complications after inferotemporal laser peripheral iridotomy (IT-LPI). METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study on patients who underwent IT-LPI with neodymium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet laser who were followed up for a minimum of 3 months. RESULTS: In our study, out of a total of 116 patients, new-onset dysphotopsia was reported in 6.03% and significant pain during the procedure in 12.93% of patients. Other complications noticed were photophobia in 29.31% (34/116), rise in intraocular pressure at the end of 3 months in 1.72%, pigment dispersion in 0.86%, epiretinal membrane formation in 04.31%, and cystoid macular edema in 1.72%. No patients had hyphema or diplopia. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of dysphotopsia following IT-LPI was relatively low in our study and was comparable to the superior PI under full lid cover from the literature. Although dysphotopsia rates were not superior, no patient developed hyphema, which could be due to the remoteness of the laser spot to the larger blood vessels located at 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Furthermore, the procedure was well tolerated as significant pain was reported by only less than a quarter of the patients. Hence, IT-LPI can be considered an easy to perform, safe, and comfortable procedure for the patient.