The type of surgery your doctor recommends will depend on the type and severity of your glaucoma and the general health of your eye.

Surgery can help lower pressure when medication is not sufficient. However, it cannot reverse vision loss.

Laser Surgery

Doctors often recommend laser surgery before incisional surgery, unless the eye pressure is very high or the optic nerve is badly damaged. During laser surgery, a focused beam of light is used to treat the eye’s trabecular meshwork (the eye’s drainage system). This helps increase the flow of fluid out of the eye.

Read about types of laser surgery.

Incisional Surgery

In contrast, incisional surgery (also called filtering surgery) involves creating a drainage hole with the use of a small surgical tool. This new opening allows the intraocular fluid to bypass the clogged drainage canals and flow out of this new, artificial drainage canal.

When laser surgery does not successfully lower eye pressure, or the pressure begins to rise again, the doctor may recommend incisional surgery. Occasionally, glaucoma surgery may have to be repeated especially if excessive scarring cannot be prevented or after long periods of time.

Read more about incisional surgery.