Trabeculectomy Month 1: What to Expect

By the end of month one most people are still in the frequent visit phase. EyeWiki describes visits every one to two weeks for the first two months after surgery. At many of those visits the surgeon adjusts drainage by releasing scleral flap sutures, either with laser suture lysis or by pulling releasable sutures, which BrightFocus Foundation also describes as sutures sometimes cut in the office with a laser.

Eye pressure often moves up and down through this month, and vision tends to move with it. The Glaucoma Research Foundation describes blurred vision for about six weeks after surgery. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says a new eyeglass prescription is usually measured once the eye has healed, which is often at 6 to 8 weeks, so month one is normally too early to update glasses.

This is also the month when early complications show up if they are going to. EyeWiki reports early wound leak in about 6 percent of eyes in the CIGTS study and 11 percent in the Tube Versus Trabeculectomy study, shallow or flat front chamber in about 13 percent and 10 percent respectively, and ptosis, meaning a droopy upper eyelid, in about 12 percent in CIGTS. Most of these are managed in the office, but they are the reason your surgeon wants to see you so often.