Postoperative Management of Kahook Dual Blade Goniotomy with Phacoemulsification Cataract Extraction.

Aim: To review the efficacy and safety of two common postoperative regimens following Kahook Dual Blade goniotomy with phacoemulsification cataract extraction (KDB-CE).

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective review of eyes undergoing KDB-CE from May 2016 to 2018 by a single surgeon. Almost 12-month follow-up data were assessed for two common postop regimens-treatment with (1) topical prednisolone acetate 1% with pilocarpine 1% (pred-pilo) or (2) difluprednate 0.05% postoperatively. Postoperative results were compared to each respective baseline intraocular pressure (IOP) levels.

Results: There were 53 eyes in the difluprednate group and 25 eyes in the pred-pilo group. In the difluprednate group, the IOP decreased at postoperative day 1 (POD1) [16 ± 5 baseline vs 15 ± 5 POD1, mean ± standard deviation (SD) in mm Hg, and = 0.321], but increased at postoperative week 1 (POW1) due to a 15% rate of IOP-spikes (19 ± 9, = 0.099). The number of IOP-lowering drops decreased from baseline (2 ± 1 drops) to 1 ± 1 drops at POD1 ( < 0.0001), and remained at 1 ± 1 drops through postoperative month 12 (POM12) ( < 0.0001). In the pred-pilo group, there was a statistically significant decrease in mean IOP at POW1 (16 ± 4 POW1 vs 18 ± 6 baseline, = 0.044), which persisted through POM6. The number of IOP-lowering drops was not statistically significantly lower from baseline at POM3 (2 ± 1 at POM3, = 0.188). Spikes in IOP, corneal edema, and hyphema were the most common complications.

Conclusion: Both postoperative regimens were effective following KDB-CE at reducing IOP at 12 months. The difluprednate group was likely to experience an IOP-spike at POW1 but used fewer IOP-lowering drops 12 months after KDB goniotomy. In the pred-pilo group, the number of IOP-lowering drops was equivalent to baseline levels at POM3. Aside from IOP spikes, there were similar complication rates observed between the two postoperative regimens. Due to demographic differences, it was not possible to compare relative IOP-lowering efficacy between the two postoperative regimens.

Clinical Significance: It is efficacious and safe to use either postoperative regimen following KBD-CE. Postoperative trajectories may differ with respect to the postoperative regimen, but further randomized controlled trials are needed to compare various topical steroid medications for postoperative regimens following KDB-CE.

How To Cite This Article: Birnbaum F, Wakil S, Vu DM, Postoperative Management of Kahook Dual Blade Goniotomy with Phacoemulsification Cataract Extraction. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2023;17(4):169-174.