The Microendoscope for Ciliary Process Photocoagulation in Neovascular ...

INTRODUCTION Although intractable glaucoma was previous-
ly treated with cyclocryotherapy to reduce
the production of aqueous humor by the cil-
iary body, recent advances of laser surgery
have resulted in the wide use of trans-scleral
cyclophotocoagulation with a semiconductor
laser for the treatment of glaucoma.
However, excessive coagulation and destruc-
tion of the ciliary body by cyclophotocoagu-
lation can cause postoperative complications,
such as severe inflammation of the anterior
chamber with fibrin deposition, anterior
chamber hemorrhage, and ocular pain. To
solve these problems, the Micro Probe (Endo
Optiks) was developed by Dr. Martin Uram
who combined an endoscope and a laser
photocoagulation device [1]. Since this appa-
ratus provides a direct view of the ciliary
pars plicata during photocoagulation, it
allows surgeons to perform cyclophotocoag-
ulation with much less laser energy than the
trans-scleral technique. This paper reports the results obtained with the Micro Probe, which allows the cil-
iary pars plicata to be observed and coagu-
lated with ease. EQUIPMENT AND METHODS 1. Equipment The equipment used was the Micro Probe (Endo Optiks), which combines the
functions of an endoscope and a semicon-
ductor laser to allow intraocular observation
and photocoagulation to be performed at the
same time. It consists of a main console unit Tokai J Exp Clin Med., Vol. 27, No. 1, pp.27-34, 2002 27 The Microendoscope for Ciliary Process Photocoagulation in Neovascular Glaucoma Kenji KAWAI Department of Ophthalmology, Ohgaki Municipal Hospital, Gifu (Received May 28, 2001; Accepted July 11, 2001) The safety and efficacy in endoscopic ciliary body photocoagulation was evaluated in 6
patients with intractable neovascular glaucoma secondary to proliferative diabetic retinopa-
thy. After a mean follow-up of 8 weeks, the mean intraocular pressure (IOP) decreased from
39.2

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