Trabeculectomy

Trabeculectomy

Trabeculectomy Surgery in India - Best Doctors & Treatment Options

Each year, numerous people from various African countries, like Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, Congo, and Ethiopia, travel abroad for better medical care. India is a central hub for global medical tourism. Recently, it has developed into one of the most frequent destinations for medical tourists. African residents are travelling to India for quality medical care. The country offers first-rate medical facilities, an advanced medical team, and essential therapies at a lower price range than other medical tourism destinations like Thailand, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and the USA.

Glaucoma is an acute eye condition for the optic nerve. Thus, your eyes will lead to a gradual and permanent loss of eyesight. Although glaucoma can occur at any intraocular pressure (IOP), high IOP is one of the main risk factors. It can advance your Glaucoma in a risky condition. Glaucoma therapies like trabeculectomy surgery reduce the amount of aqueous fluid that forms in the eye. Also, in glaucoma filtration surgery, this process increases the amount of fluid that exits the eye and targets the reduction of intraocular pressure.

Understanding Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a type of eye disease that damages the optic nerve and blocks eyesight. The optic nerve transmits visual information from your eye to your brain. It is essential for a healthy vision. Elevated intraocular pressure is frequently connected with optic nerve damage. However, regular eye pressure does not always lead to glaucoma.

People of any age can get glaucoma. However, older people are more prone to the disease. Generally, it is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over 60 years of age. Also, several types of glaucoma are asymptomatic. Gradually, you will face the harmful effects. Also, you may not be able to detect a change in eyesight before the advancement of the disease.

To prevent this disease, it is essential to get routine eye checkups to measure your intraocular pressure. Early detection can decrease or prevent visual loss due to glaucoma. If you have glaucoma, you will require treatment like surgical trabeculectomy or ongoing monitoring for the remainder of your life.

Trabeculectomy Procedure

Trabeculectomy is a type of glaucoma surgery that opens a new channel for fluid drainage from the eye. This outpatient surgery is performed in the operating room. By reducing eye pressure, it is used to stop the growth of glaucoma-related visual loss.

There are some step-by-step processes to lower intraocular pressure during a trabeculectomy operation in India.

First, the procedure is done under the local block, which anesthetizes the eye and the surrounding tissue only.

Then, the surgeon makes a tiny drainage channel in the sclera, or the white portion of the eye, which allows extra fluid to escape. In addition to the general anesthetic used for the surgery, the surgeons may also give sedatives to help patients relax.

After numbing your eye, the surgeon accesses the sclera underneath by making a tiny cut in the conjunctiva, the thin membrane that covers the sclera.

Then, to enable fluid drainage, the surgeon excises a flap of scleral tissue and a small portion of the trabecular meshwork—the eye's drainage system. He can carefully reposition and suture the flap to allow fluid to drain from the eye, preserving normal intraocular pressure.

The whole trabeculectomy steps generally last less than an hour. However, proper post-operative care is essential to the potency of the intervention. They include follow-up visits to measure the IOP levels and to assess the recovery process of the eye.

Benefits of Trabeculectomy

Trabeculectomy offers patients with glaucoma several vital advantages regarding the disease.

  • It is very effective for lowering IOP, which is extremely important to avoid more damage to the optic nerve.
  • Patients who have not had positive results with medications or laser therapies find trabeculectomy surgery beneficial.
  • Surgery directs a new draining pathway and thus helps achieve long-term control of intra-ocular pressure. Moreover, it can make the daily use of eye drops or medications with side effects and poor compliance additional.
  • This is especially important in a country like India, where several factors, such as socioeconomic status, can restrict convenience to ordinary medicines when needed. Surgery also has a high success rate if skilled surgeons perform it. The modern technologies and techniques have enhanced safety and efficiency.

Preparing for Trabeculectomy

It is also recommended that patients who are considering having a trabeculectomy should prepare well for this surgery. Monitoring blood sugar levels and blood pressure is crucial because any alteration will slow down the rate of healing within the body, especially after surgery. Patients with very high intraocular pressure may be prescribed oral medicine to lower pressure prior to the trabeculectomy surgery. This is important since an eye surgery with high blood pressure can cause problems like bleeding and tissue damage. Also, patients are subjected to specific stringent hygiene measures to reduce incidents of infections.

Recommended Doctors for Trabeculectomy Surgery in India

CureIndia is an online platform that assists you in choosing the right medical facility performed by the best medical specialist. The majority of the doctors in our association are globally trained. They are professionals who are highly experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled. Most of them are active members of many international medical councils and associations. Let us hear from some of the most reputed eye doctors in India about Trabeculectomy Surgery in India.

1. Dr. Suraj Munjal

Dr. Suraj Munjal-Best Eye Doctor

2. Dr. Smriti Jain

Dr. Smriti Jain

3. Dr. Suwarn Chetan

Dr. Suwarn Chetan - Best Cataract Surgeon in India

Cost of Trabeculectomy Surgery in India

Trabeculectomy costs between $1,000 and $2,000. The cost of the surgical procedure depends on several factors. However, trabeculectomy surgery cost in India will be significantly less than other Western countries like the UK or the USA.

Treatment Name Cost in India Cost in UK Cost in USA
Trabeculectomy Surgery Cost $1,000 - $2,000 $4,000 - $6,000 $10,000

It is usually performed for patients with advanced glaucoma that cannot be controlled with medication alone. The trabeculectomy surgery cost is lower in India than in developed nations. Hence, for many, it is a boon to cure their diseases.

Recovery Process

Since trabeculectomy surgery, the recovery process involves several phases, and post-operative compliance is crucial for success. 

First, the patient must visit his doctor at least twice during the first week after the surgery. This is when the condition of the conjunctiva, the material of the eye's connection, should be checked in case there are problems with high or low pressure in the eye.

Sometimes, other steps, like an injection into the eye, may be required to ensure that the drainage channel remains clear. It is vital to avoid getting any bacteria into the eye; however, after surgery, there is a new entry point that can allow bacteria to get into the eye.

They also recommend the use of eye drops and ointments as directed and restrict movement involving the upper part of the body since this could exert pressure on the eye. Also, the eye should not come in contact with water strictly for two weeks or more to avoid infections and promote healing.

Advanced Techniques: Ab Interno Trabeculectomy

There is another method used in glaucoma surgery, which is called ab interno trabeculotomy. In this procedure, an internal drainage channel is formed from within the eye without incising the scleral aspect. This unique glaucoma surgery can be done using a microcatheter or laser through which the trabecular meshwork is opened from the inside.

This ab interno trabeculotomy in India lessens external wound-related obstacles and can be suitable for patients who are not eligible for current trabeculectomy. However, its efficacy and cost-potency in the long term and across other detectable health conditions are still unknown since more data is required.

Conclusion

Trabeculectomy has been the best surgical intervention for glaucoma due to its simplicity, safety, and efficacy. The surgery lowers the intraocular pressure to minimize further damage to the optic nerve. Nevertheless, the freedom to decrease dependence on daily medications and maintain vision is helpful for the entire populace. Nonetheless, trabeculectomy surgery in India is a reliable and popular surgery, especially where patients have limited access to advanced devices and regular healthcare solutions.

Trabeculectomy Surgery FAQs

What is a Trabeculectomy surgery?

Trabeculectomy is glaucoma surgery on the eye. It creates a new pathway for fluid to drain from the eye. This surgery is specifically performed in the operating room. By lowering eye pressure, it prevents the worsening of vision loss due to glaucoma.

How do you sleep after a trabeculectomy?

Patients should not rub their eyes and wear the shield for at least one week after surgery. If there's blood in the eye, do not bend your body when sleeping. The patient should sleep with extra pillows so the blood can settle inferiorly and then dissipate.

How long is recovery from Trabeculectomy surgery?

Generally, Trabeculectomy takes about 4-6 weeks to heal. Your vision may be blurry for six weeks. Also, it is relatively a quicker Glaucoma procedure to recover.

How successful is trabeculectomy surgery?

Trabeculectomy has a high success rate. Almost 90 percent of these surgeries were successful, with two-third of the patients no longer needing medication. It is a safe and successful surgery till today.

How painful is a trabeculectomy?

You may see bright lights but will not feel any pain during the surgery. You will get discharged with a transparent plastic shield with a patch over the eye. Most of the glaucoma patients do not experience significant pain. If you experience pain in the eye, you should consult your doctor about it.

What does the eye look like after Trabeculectomy?

After surgery, your eye may appear red or itchy. Also, it may lose water or swell a little. However, do not rub your eyes even if they seem uncomfortable. Rubbing your eyes can infect the operated area.

How many stitches are in a trabeculectomy?

Generally, surgeons use three scleral flap sutures in all patients. This number of stitches is satisfactory with a scleral flap of 4×4-mm.