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Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty SLT

Posted , 7 users are following.

JerryR
JerryR

I have been using Latanoprost eye drops, every evening, for a year for mild glaucoma.  Now, a year later, my eye pressure is up a little so my doctor prescribed a second eyedrop, twice a day, and advised me to consider a treatment called Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty "SLT."  Does anyone have any experience with SLT?  Google says the success rate in lowering the eye pressure is 40 to 70% and the complication rate is low.  Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • lester19220
    lester19220 JerryR

    Posted

    SLT is temporary only. You will have to continue with drops.
  • Phil1234
    Phil1234 JerryR

    Posted

    Hi Jerry yes had this earlier this year, I had a panic attack before the SLT as I was so anxious but it was really quite straightforward and quick didn't hurt at all just mild discomfort where you have a lens held against your eye, takes 6 weeks for full effects to show after this time my IOP dropped 4 mmHg compared to the eye that didn't have it done how ever a few months later and this difference is back to 1 mmHg so I don't think it's had a major effect on me but was worth a try. Good luck with it.

  • Alcantara
    Alcantara JerryR

    Posted

    I had it done a few years ago.   Not at all painful, just slight discomfort overnight, but nothing much.   Didn't even cover the eye up after it was done.   Didn't have any good effect with me though, the pressure actually went up, so they changed the drops and it came down again.     As Lester has said, any results are only temporary, they wear off!    All I can say is that it did me no harm at all.   The vision in that eye actually improved, and it was quite good to start with.    I can still see very clearly.    They said the improvement had nothing to do with the SLT, and would have hapenned anyway!     Worth a try, as it is low risk and leaves no permanent damage.   

  • arlene50875
    arlene50875 JerryR

    Posted

    Hi, I use Latanoprost every night. I'm not familiar with what you mentioned. I did have Laser Iridotomy. Didn't accomplish anything. My eye dr mentioned cataract surgery which I'm afraid of. Last time I was there she said I was stable, come back in 3 months. I have to go back later this week. Nervous wreck. Good luck to you. Eyesight is the most important thing and I'm obsessed about it everyday.

  • jean68130
    jean68130 JerryR

    Posted

    Hi Jerry, yes I had the laser treatment for my glaucoma but did not work for me - I was one of the unlucky ones ha ha!! Since then I have had glaucoma ops in both eyes and my eye pressures perfect. Only need glasses for reading now and I am a 'mature' lady??

    Hope you have success with your laser treatment.

    Regards

    Jean

  • minnie96133
    minnie96133 JerryR

    Posted

    2 things about this class of procedures: (1) MLT (micropulse vs. selective) is considered gentler and just as effective and (2) what is "temporary"?  Considering the damage done by the drops such as latanoprost to the surface of the eye, it is, I believe worth trying MLT (or SLT) if your angle is wide enough.  I am scheduled for this procedure next week after a washout period of 6 weeks without latanoprost.  Even if the procedure is somewhat successful, meaning it lowers the IOP but not as much as the drops, they perhaps I will be able to use the drops every other day or once a week.  Also, if the lowered IOP lasts a year -- or even less -- then it will be worth it not to need artificial tears to counteract the dry eye I suffer from, especially at night.

    • JerryR
      JerryR minnie96133

      Posted

      Good luck to you Minnie.  Let me know how it goes.  JerryR
    • minnie96133
      minnie96133 JerryR

      Posted

      The procedure itself was short and not painful.  There was serious irritation afterwards from the lens that is placed on the eye during the procedure, but it subsided within a few hours and some artificial tears.  I won't know whether it lowered the pressure -- and if so, how much -- for at least a few weeks, but at least there were no spikes. 

      Good luck to you too!

  • Alcantara
    Alcantara JerryR

    Posted

    When I had mine done, the pressure was 26.    Immediately after, it was down to 20.   I had very little irritation, but I was told to continue with my normal drops.    When I returned a few weeks later, the pressure had gone up to 28, so I was no better off.   They changed my drops, and it went down again!     So I gained nothing from SLT, although it did not do me any harm at all!   
    • minnie96133
      minnie96133 Alcantara

      Posted

      It seems to me that if your pressure dropped from 26 to 20 (more than 20% lower) that the procedure was actually successful!  Why would you need to add drops?!?  It is suspected that drops may actually interfere or compete with the procedure's mechanism of lowering the pressure.  Research has shown that the procedure is most successful on eyes that were never previously medicated.  That is one reason that many doctors recommend a total washout period before even doing the procedure.

    • Alcantara
      Alcantara minnie96133

      Posted

      Immediately they completed the SLT, they told me to go away and come back in an hour.    When I came back, the pressure was 20!    But they told me to carry on with the drops (I had been on them several years by then).    When I went back for a checkup a few weeks later, as I said, the pressure was up to 28, so it was not successful with me!    But they brought it down again by changing the drops!     It does not work for everyone, and it did not work for me, but it did me no harm either!         
    • minnie96133
      minnie96133 Alcantara

      Posted

      If I understand correctly, you never stopped taking the drops you had used before the SLT.    And after the procedure you continued taking them.  So really there was no way to know whether it was the SLT or the drops that caused the pressure to rise.  It could have been a combination of the two, no?  My doctor had me go off the drops for over a month before the SLT and told me to stay off the drops until my pressure is checked 2 weeks after the procedure.
    • Alcantara
      Alcantara minnie96133

      Posted

      Yes, that is correct!   But what could I do about it?   It was not up to me to advise an eye specialist, and everything was OK in the end!   
    • minnie96133
      minnie96133 Alcantara

      Posted

      I'm glad everything is now OK!  Wishing you continued good health . . .

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