Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) - Wills Eye Hospital

What is SLT? SLT is a laser procedure performed in the office to lower eye pressure. How does SLT work? Laser energy is applied to the trabecular meshwork. WILLSEYEISHIRING–CLICKHERETOAPPLYTODAY! GlaucomaHome Symptoms&Diagnosis WhatisGlaucoma GlaucomaSurgery GlaucomaFAQs PrepareforyourVisit SelectiveLaserTrabeculoplasty(SLT):ALaserProceduretoLowerEyePressure WhatisSLT? SLTisalaserprocedureperformedintheofficetolowereyepressure. HowdoesSLTwork? Laserenergyisappliedtothetrabecularmeshwork.Thetrabecularmeshworkislocatedinthefrontoftheeyeandisthenaturaldrainforfluid.SLTstimulatesthetrabecularmeshworktoincreasetheamountoffluiddrainedfromwithintheeye,whichlowerseyepressure.Itmaytakeupto2monthsforthelasertotakeitsfulleffect. WhoneedsSLT? Patientswithopen-angleglaucomawhoneedimprovementineyepressurecontrol.Thiscanbeusedaloneorasanadditiontoeyedrops. RequestanAppointmentTODAY IfyouwouldliketospeakwithaWillsEyerepresentativeforhelpfindingaglaucomaphysician CALL215-928-3197 orclickheretomakeanappointmentonline. MeetWillsEyeGlaucomaDoctors Whatarethebenefits? Onaverage,SLTcanlowertheeyepressurebyabout20-30%.Thelaseriseffectiveinloweringeyepressureinabout80%ofpatients.Thelasereffectwearsoffafterseveralyears,butthetrabecularmeshworkcanbestimulatedagainwithrepeatlaser.SLTdoesnotaffectthesuccessratesortheeligibilityofgettingothermedicalorsurgicaltreatments. Whataretherisks? Comparedtomanyothertreatmentsforglaucoma,includingeyedrops,otherlasertreatmentsandsurgery,SLThasfewsideeffects.Inflammationispossibleafterthelaserbutitisnotcommon.Youmaybeprescribedanti-inflammatorydropsonanindividualbasis.Thereisasmallriskoftemporaryhigheyepressuresshortlyfollowingthelasertreatment.Thisisusuallycontrolledwithglaucomamedications. WillSLTcuremyglaucoma? Thesimpleansweris“No”.Glaucomaisachronicdiseasethatrequiresconstantmonitoringandtreatment.TheSLTprocedurewillhelptoloweryoureyepressure.However,itwillnotreverseanylossofvisionthathasalreadyoccurred. MEETWILLSEYEGLAUCOMADOCTORS   Myers_JonathanJONATHANMYERS,MD Chief,GlaucomaService Katz_L.JayL.JAYKATZ,MD EmeritusDirector Dale_ElizabethELIZABETHDALE,MD Fudemberg_ScottSCOTTFUDEMBERG,MD Kolomeyer_NatashaNATASHAKOLOMEYER,MD Lee_DanielDANIELLEE,MD Machen_LindsayLINDSAYMACHEN,MD Moster_MarleneMARLENER.MOSTER,MD Pro_MichaelMICHAELJ.PRO,MD Razeghinejad_RezaREZARAZEGHINEJAD,MD Schmidt_CourtlandCOURTLANDSCHMIDTJR.,MD Cox_MaryJudeMARYJUDECOX,MD Niknam_RachelRACHELM.NIKNAM,MD Piltz-Seymour_JodyJODYPILTZ-SEYMOUR,MD Richman_JesseJESSERICHMAN,MD Schwartz_GeoffreyGEOFFREYSCHWARTZ,MD Vora_MonishaMONISHAVORA,MD Walker_RebeccaREBECCAWALKER,MD Williams_AliceALICEL.WILLIAMS,MD PREVNEXT WhatshouldIexpectifIhaveanSLT? Yourtreatmentwillbeperformedinaspeciallyequippedlaserroomintheclinic.Onceyouhavebeencheckedin,dropswillbeusedtonumbyoureyeandcheckthepressure.Noinjectionsorneedleswillbeused. First,youwillreceiveaneyedropcalledapraclonidine,whichhelpspreventariseintheeyepressureaftertheprocedure.Thenadropofanestheticwillbeappliedtonumbtheeye. Yourdoctorwillplaceaspeciallensonyoureyetohelpfocusthelaseronthetrabecularmeshwork.Thislensalsopreventsyoureyefromblinkingandkeepstheeyestillduringthetreatment.Acleargelisplacedbetweentheeyeandthelenstoprotectthesurfaceofyoureye. Youwillthenhearaseriesofclicksandmayseeflashesoflightasthelasertreatsyoureye.Thereisvirtuallynopainwiththeprocedure.Youwillfeelthelensslowlyrotatingonthesurfaceoftheeyeasthedoctortreatsvariouspartsofthetrabecularmeshwork.Theproceduregenerallytakes5-10minutes. WhatshouldIexpectafterSLT? Attheendofthelasertreatment,thelenswillberemovedfromtheeye.Thegelmayremainonyoureyeforuptoanhour,leadingtoblurredvisionorafeelingofheaviness.Asasafetymeasure,youreyepressurewillbecheckedsometimeafteryourprocedure. HowlongafterthelaserIwillbeseen? Dependingonthetypeandseverityofyourglaucomayouwillbeseen1-6weeksafterthelaser. WhateyedropswillIuseafterthelaserprocedure? Yourdoctormayaskyoutouseananti-inflammatoryeyedropinthetreatedeyeforseveraldays. CanIstopmyglaucomadropsafterthelaserprocedure? Yourdoctorwilltellyouwhichdropstocontinueusingandhowoftenafterthelaserprocedure.Sometimespatientsareabletoreducethenumberofeyedropstheyaretaking.Evenifyouaretakingthesameglaucomamedicationsaftertheprocedure,thesurgeryisasuccessifyourpressureislower.Theneedforeyedropslong-termafterthistreatmentvariesgreatlyanddependsonyourtypeofglaucomaandtherateatwhichitisprogressing. Willmyvisionimproveafterthelaserprocedure?  Thislaserisforloweringtheeyepressureandwillnotimproveyourvision. WhatistherecoverytimeandwhatshouldIexpect? Thougheveryonehealsdifferently,mostpeoplecanresumenormalactivitiesrightaftertreatment,althoughyou'llneedtohavesomeonedriveyouhome.Forthenextfewdaysyoureyesmaybered,alittlescratchyandsensitivetolightifyoudevelopinflammationintheeyeaftertheprocedure Ifthereisanyblurredvision,itusuallyimproveswithinhoursoraday. Therearenorestrictionsinreading,watchingTV,usingyourphone,tabletdevice,computer,etcbutyoumaytiremoreeasilyduringtheseactivities. Tylenol(acetaminophen)isagoodoptionifyoufeelanypainordiscomfortunlessyouareunabletotakethismedication. Ifyoureyehasseverepainorsuddenworseningpainorvisionaftersurgery,pleasecallourofficeoroncallphysicianimmediately. WillSLTcuremyglaucoma? Thesimpleansweris“No”.Glaucomaisachronicdiseasethatrequiresconstantmonitoringandtreatment.TheSLTprocedurewillhelptoloweryoureyepressure.However,itwillnotreverseanylossofvisionthathasalreadyoccurred. 　 Formoreinformation,pleasesee: AmericanAcademyofOphthalmologypatientinformationwebsite AmericanGlaucomaSocietypatientinformationwebsite