Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Thickness Change After CO2 Laser-Assisted Deep Sclerectomy Surgery

Zoltán Sohajda,1 Noémi Széll,1 Ágnes Revák,1 Júlia Papp,1 Edit Tóth-Molnár2 1University of Debrecen, Kenézy Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, Debrecen, Hungary; 2University of Szeged, Department of Ophthalmology, Szent-Györgyi Medical and Pharmaceutical Center, Szeged, HungaryCorrespondence: Zoltán Sohajda Email zoltansohajda@hotmail.comPurpose: The goal of our study was to investigate changes in intraocular pressure (IOP), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFLT) after CO2 laser-assisted deep sclerectomy (CLASS).Methods: We carried out uncomplicated CLASS surgeries and a 12-month follow-up on 22 open-angle glaucomatous (OAG) eyes of 22 patients. IOP, BCVA, and RNFLT with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT) were recorded before and 1, 3, 6, 12 months after surgery.Results: Mean age of patients was 68.1 years. IOP decreased from preoperative 28.45± 5.99 SD mmHg (mean±standard deviation) to 15.09± 2.40 mmHg (p=0.00039) at 12 months after surgery. BCVA-change from preoperative 0.34± 0.38 SD (LogMAR) to 0.37± 0.41 SD (LogMAR) was not significant (p=0.2456). RNFLT-change from preoperative 60.50± 18.15μm to 59.63± 17.52 μm at 12 months postoperatively was not significant (p=0.056). Qualified success rate of CLASS surgery was 72.7%, whereas complete success rate was 64% at 1 year postoperatively.Conclusion: Successful CLASS surgery efficiently reduced IOP. At postoperative 12 months, RNFLT and BCVA were not reduced significantly. There was no significant glaucomatous progression after surgery encountered in respect of investigated parameters.Keywords: open-angle glaucoma, CLASS, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, intraocular pressure, best-corrected visual acuity