A Proposal for the Use of a Fixed Low-Energy Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty for Open Angle Glaucoma

Abstract

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) has been in routine clinical use for over 20 years with millions of patients successfully treated and a low rate of clinically significant complications. The procedure requires the clinician to manually position the laser beam on the trabecular meshwork (TM) using a gonioscopy lens and to titrate the SLT laser energy based upon the amount of pigmentation in the angle as well as the observation of small bubbles produced by the laser effect. We propose that SLT energy titration is unnecessary either to achieve intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction nor to minimize potential side effects. Ample evidence to support our proposal includes multiple clinical reports demonstrating comparable levels of IOP reduction resulting from different laser energies, large variety of energy and other laser parameters used in commercially available SLT lasers, and the nature of the laser-induced changes in the TM tissue with respect to energy. Despite these variations in laser parameters, SLT consistently reduces IOP with a low complication rate. We propose that using a low fixed energy for all patients will effectively and safely lower patients’ IOP while reducing the complexity of the SLT procedure, potentially making SLT accessible to more patients.