Technique of goniotomy.

Abstract

EXPERIENCE in treating over one hundred cases of congenital glaucoma during the past sixteen years has convinced me that the operation of choice for this disease is, in a high proportion of cases, goniotomy under direct gonioscopic control. During this period the operation designed by Barkan (1948) has been modified in one or two respects, which, it is thought, have made it easier and more controlled. In one important respect the method to be described has borrowed from that of Worst (1964), but is simpler. It is presented for the interest of those who already practise the operation, and to introduce others who are prepared to give it a trial, to its advantages. It must be stated, however, that the operation is one in which atten-tion to detail is essential and in which, in my case at any rate, consistent success has come only after much practice, so that the best results are most likely at the hands of those who make a special study of this disease and this operation. Choice of Cases Experience has shown that cases of congenital glaucoma fall into two quite sharply divided groups: those in which goniotomy can virtually be guaranteed to be