Hello Fanny. At the moment the glare doesn't impair my life. It's upsetting. you see it at the movie theater, with sunlight, bright screens, in many situations. The other eye was successfully done and I don't have any bothersome effects with it. I think the solution is a suture on the hole, but as you've said perfectly, I'll look for a second opinion. Thank you very much.

Anon 47762: welcome among the iridotomy victims. I am glad the iridotomy hasn't impaired your life completely. Are you still able to work? I lost my job after the iridotomies. Fortunately you had only one eye done. Don't have the other one done! Yes, the glare and the white line will be with you for the rest of your life, but there are possibilities of suturing the iris. You should go to a different ophthalmologist and get a second opinion, as your doctor, like so many others, doesn't take your problems seriously. Then ask your second doctor to give you the name of a doctor who does iris repair. There are specialists, at least in the USA. I am wearing sunglasses all the time, even when writing on the computer. Perhaps that would be a solution for you.

Hello Brian, thank you very much. I really apreciate any information about doctors who deal with this problem. I was operated on some months ago and my doctor doesn´t seem to recognise the problem. He doesn´t know why I have the glare, apparently. The bad effect doesn´t impair my life totally, of course. But I could see perfectly before with my glasses or contact lenses and now I have this annoying white line up and down, when there's sunlight or watching screens and it affects your mind. Fortunately,it´s only in one eye. Each movement of eyelid or when I wrinkle my forehead and raise my eyelid, I see the glare, and I think it´s the lower edge of my iris. And it´s worse when I´m looking upwards. It´s really depressing to know that that glare will go with you the rest of your life.

Anon 47149: unfortunately there is no real solution for your problem, which is a very frequent side effect of iridotomies. The eyelid never covers the iridotomy hole all the time. When you look up and around the hole is uncovered. And strangely enough, even when the hole is covered patients see this white line. There is an ophthalmologist in Germany, I think it was in Dortmund, who sutures iridotomy holes. I'll try and find his name and address. How did the iridotomy impair your life? Do you still work? Most people lose their jobs when they have had an iridotomy.

Hello to everyone. I´m from Spain and by chance was reading this board. I recently had an intraocular operation for myopia and have a horrible "white line glare" under some light conditions, such as sunlight or inside movie theaters or under dark light conditions and brilliant stages,for example. I think my eyelid raises a little and uncovers the iridotomy hole, creating an uncomfortable blinking glare horizontal line. I only would like to say that I know four cases more here, with the same bad effects or worse. It´s not so strange there are these adverse effects and opthalmologists don´t know well the cause, and they are "top opthalmologists", so the tecnique is not sure or controlled totally. Does anyone know a possible solution? thank you.

anon 43760: Are you an ophthalmologist wanting to tell people how harmless iridotomies are, or are you really a patient that had the surgery done? If so, I am glad you had few side effects. It is good that you are optimistic, but the glare you have will, of course, not go away. It can only disappear if the iridotomy hole closes, but then your doctor will re-open it. So, in any case, the glare won't disappear. This is good to know, because it keeps you from having false hopes. Try and get used to it, that's the only way to handle it. Good luck. --Brian

I am very sorry that some of you have had a bad experience with your iridotomy, but I feel I have to give the other side in this discussion. When I was told I needed it done in both eyes I looked online to find out what an iridotomy was because I had never heard of it before. I found this website which scared me to death - I almost didn't have it done because I was convinced I would lose my eyesight or have chronic pain. The truth is, it is *not* a pleasant procedure, but by the next day you hardly know you've had it done. It is important to have it done by a doctor who is experienced in the procedure (my doctor was one of the pioneers and does between four and 20 of them every week) and someone you can talk to and have confidence in.

I'm glad I have that kind of doctor. I had both eyes done - a week apart - and it has been three weeks since the last surgery. I am experiencing some of the "glare" in my left eye, but it is slowly getting better and I'm hoping will totally disappear with time. It does not affect my vision, it is just annoying - like I think I see something shiny on my nose.

If anyone reading this is about to have the surgery and is scared to death like I was by all the horror stories on this site, just remember that there are bad outcomes with even the simplest of surgeries and chances are the thousands of people who have a good outcome are not going to spend time writing about it. It's important to know the other side of the story, but keep in mind that it's not the *whole* story. And for the people who say that your eyesight never returns to normal after the procedure, you are being downright irresponsible. My eyesight was 20/20 in both eyes beforehand and I've had it checked twice since (once by a doctor not affiliated with my surgeon) and it is still the same. Be informed and ask questions of your doctor, and take what you read here with a grain of salt.

Anon 38245, I am sorry you had such severe side effects of iridotomy, but these effects are not unusual. Iridotomy is very serious surgery with many problems, especially if the doctor is not experienced in doing this procedure. It is quite normal that your visual acuity drops for about 3 or 4 Snellen lines.

Now, when you have mixed glaucoma, open angle and narrow angle, it very often happens that you get a glaucoma attack. With open angle glaucoma, the trabecular meshwork is obstructed, and the debris cut out during the laser iridotomy completely blocks the trabecular meshwork. So after iridotomy you often need glaucoma surgery like trabeculectomy or a shunt implant.

Iridotomy often induces glaucoma, the very disease it is meant to prevent.

You should go and get a second opinion, perhaps an experienced glaucoma specialist might be able to save some of your vision.

I had an iridotomy on my left eye in Jan. 2009, the debris and inflammation completely closed the angle. in Feb. 2009, I had the second eye done before realizing the angle had been closed, the same thing happend to the second eye with complete angle closure. My left eye's vision was 20-20, it is not 20-50 and I had to have a glaucoma implant. the right eye has not been operated on yet, because my blood pressure has never been normal since the iridotomy in Feb. I also have adverse health problems with nausea and swelling since the second iridotomy. I was sent to a retina speciaist who found blood in the right eye.

Kim 123,I suppose you are an ophthalmologist and you want to tell people that iridotomies are harmless.

Your post contains several points which simply are not true:

1. You write that your surgery was painless. As the iris can't be numbed if the eye is not opened, there is always pain. Some people can tolerate it better than others, but the procedure is not painless.

2. You write that your IOP was lowered by 5.

Iridotomy never lowers IOP and it is not done to lower IOP. On the contrary, IOP rises considerably after an IOP, because the iris debris cut out by the laser can't leave the eye and obstructs the trabecular meshwork. It takes weeks, sometimes months and sometimes years before all the cut out debris has left the eye. A few years ago a study was done on enucleated human eyes that had had iridotomies, and even 12 years after the surgery doctors still found some cut out iris debris in some eyes!

3. You write that your visual fields improved.

Iridotomy never improves visual fields and it is not done to improve visual fields.

That is the horrid fact about glaucoma: what has been lost cannot be regained. If you have lost some fibers of the optic nerve and consequently your visual fields show damage, you will never be able to regain what you have lost and your visual fields won't improve, because iridotomies don't repair the optic nerve.

So, please, Kim123, don't tell people things that are just not true.

I can understand your motives, namely to alleviate people's fear before undergoing this surgery. But patients should never be told lies.

You can say: iridotomy is a minor procedure which in about 70% of all cases opens up narrow angles, which takes about 10 minutes to perform, which gives patients pain that is normally well tolerated, which makes the IOP rise for several days or even weeks, which entails inflammation, which is normally controlled with steroids after about a week. Nobody should be afraid of the procedure itself, but it nevertheless can have serious side effects. These include a white line in the center of your vision, some glare, faint double vision, a slightly blurred vision, high IOP and inflammation. Most of these symptoms vanish after a week or two, but in about 5 to 10% of all cases they are permanent.

Kim 123,

Thanks for your comment. It shows that sometimes iridotomies can be done without serious side effects. But this is extremly rare. Even when the immediate results are good, please have your eyes checked regularly.

One long-term effect of iridotomies are quickly developing cataracts and sometimes macular degeneration.

I pray that this may not happen to you.

If I had read these frightening posts prior to my surgery, I probably wouldn't have had it. I had my surgery 4 months ago in both eyes. Everything is perfect. No problems at all. My surgery was quick, painless, and successful. My IOP was lowered by 5, my vision is the same as it was prior, and my visual field improved. I am so sorry for all of your problems and I pray for you. I just wanted to share my story. My Dr has much experience and performed 100+ of these surgeries.

Anon34359 Thanks for responding to me so soon. I think that the Dr. that did my surgery was afraid of a lawsuit by insisting so much that I go to OKC to a specialist who I think was his friend that could testify should I file a lawsuit.

Hi, JohnLock,

You were very wise not to have the other eye done! Otherwise you would not be able to see with both eyes now.

A foreign body sensation, double vision, glare and blur are completely normal side effects of iridotomy. It is not dry eye, dry eye does not cause double vision.

Doctors don't want to admit that there are severe side effects of iridotomy, because they have been taught at medical school that it is a harmless procedure. But it isn't.

There is not much that can be done against your problems. You might ask your present eye doctor to prescribe you some special tinted contact lenses to cover the iridotomy hole.

Three years ago in Tulsa I had an iriodotmy, was to go back the next week for the other eye, never went back. Since that time my eye has been irritated feels like something in it all the time. At the time dr. said he had never seen this in his practice before. Other problems I have is double vision and blurry eyes but I have not lost any vision. The Dr sent me to a eye specialist in Okla. City, he said that it was just dry eye. This has to be told the Dr. in Okla. City never sent me a bill can anyone understand that?

Dear anon 29135,

I am so glad you had no problems directly after your iridotomy. But how is your vision now? How is the inflammation? What drops are you taking? Do you see the white line? What about glare?

You must be a very tough person to say that everything is normal after an iridotomy. I hope your vision hasn't deteriorated too much. Have you already developed a cataract? This is one of the main side effects of this surgery.

Please, keep us updated.

I pray for you that your vision is ok and that you have no pain and no inflammation.

I had an iridotomy today on my left eye and everything is normal.

Dear anon 16522,

I am so glad that an ophthalmologist reads these comments about iridotomy. As you yourself admitted, hardly any ophthalmologist asks his patients about side effects of iridotomies because every doctor is sure there aren't any. But there are, indeed, many severe adverse effects. It is by no means a harmless procedure. Please ask your patients also about long-term side effects.

If you want to know more about the side effects of this surgery, google for the words 'prevent blindness America, glaucoma'. You will find a forum with 3 threads concerning iridotomies (Iridotomy, Iridotomy2, Iridotomy3) and almost 2000 messages. I suppose that forum will be an eye-opener for you. It is moderated by a well-known ophthalmologist from Miami.

You seem to be a very caring doctor. It is just great that you crawl through forums to see how patients are doing after surgery. I can imagine very few doctors do that! Keep on your good job!

This is some scary list of bad experiences after laser iridotomy... I am an ophthalmologist and sometimes I crawl through forums to see how patients are experiencing different types of treatments. Reading all of this, made me actually call two patients that I lasered the past week. Both of them were fine and without side effects. I have never heard anyone complain after an iridotomy, but then, I have never really asked about side effects, either. It is good to know all of this and I'll be sure to ask after side effects in the future. Apparently, laser iridotomy is not as harmless as we tend to believe. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Q

Hi, anon 13664,

of course I get the point. But with air crashes as well as iridotomies, any single person concerned (whether dead in an airplane crash or visually impaired by iridotomies) deserves that his case be taken into consideration and fully investigated. Every single person counts, and every single eye counts. And even if iridotomies do more good than bad, remember that most of them are done preventatively on healthy eyes.

You can't just completely disregard people who suffer after any surgery just because the majority don't suffer. Every human being is valuable and his/her fate should be taken seriously!!!

Brian

This is anon 13664 responding to Brian: "Bad" iridotomy side effects don't occur in 2% of folks getting iridotomies, it's much less than 2%, according to Dr. Anderson, Patty's expert. Read my last post again Brian --- you misread it.

The FDA may look into iridotomy for the same reason the FAA investigates every plane crash. Not because something is terribly wrong, but because we can always learn something more. The good that iridotomies do far, far outweighs any negative side effects a very few persons have. Of course if you're unfortunate to be one of those few persons, it's everything to you --- just like, if the airliner you're on crashes, you don't really care to hear how safe flying is. Get the point?

Anon 13664,

even if only 2% have devastating side effects after iridotomies this means that every year about 1700 people are so much visually impaired that they have to give up their job or even become completely blind. I presume there are much more than 2%. Why would the FDA investigate iridotomies? Do you have a source for your 2%?

Comment to Patty, et al. 20% of those who get iridotomies don't "suffer" or have their lives "ruined" from having the iridotomies --- that is a gross exaggeration. It's not even 2%. According to Dr. Anderson it's a lot less than that who may have some lasting negative side effect related to having an iridotomy. To those few persons iridotomies are certainly "bad" but that shouldn't be a reason for anyone not to get an iridotomy if it's recommended. Just like a few persons die in airliner crashes, but that's not a good reason not to fly.

Hi, anon 13073,

you went to 'Prevent Blindness America' and probably only went to 'Iridotomy2'. Just scroll a bit below and you will see 'Iridotomy'. Dr Anderson created a new thread, because the first with more than 1200 posts had become too long.

There are actually more than 60 people writing about the adverse effects of iridotomy, and this is not a handful.

Of course, probably about 80% have only minor problems after this surgery, but for the remaining 20% it is devastating. And when you know that about 85.000 iridotomies are done every year in this country, you can imagine how many suffer.

By the way, Dr. Anderson doesn't only function as a psychologist, but mainly gives medical advice, explains what happens in detail, names ophthalmologists you can go to to fix your problem etc.

Nobody says iridotomies are bad in general. But they shouldn't be done preventatively and for those who don't need them. An ophthalmologist at Will's Eye Institute said too many iridotomies were done. And he is right. Did you know, the FDA is investigating LASIK at the moment. The next surgery they are going to investigate is iridotomy. OK, that's the last post I am writing here.

Be glad that you belong to the 80% who have no problems and don't minimize the suffering of the 20%.

Kind regards,

Patty

This is anon 13073. Patty, following your suggestion, I went to "Prevent Blindness America" and read the many posts about iridotomy.

First of all, the "hundreds" of posts there are mostly by only a handful of persons, repeated over and over, "stuffing the ballot box" so to speak, like all the very negative posts here are written by many of the same persons, such as yourself, over and over again.

Secondly, Dr. Anderson, while he may be a very good ophthalmologist, is functioning on "Prevent Blindness America" more as a psychologist to the few persons who claim iridotomy has "ruined" their lives. Dr. Anderson never writes that iridotomies are "bad" and should be avoided. Rather, he encourages getting them to prevent eye damage, even possible blindness, if one is at high risk for closed-angle glaucoma.

Remember Patty, that you don't normally hear from the countless thousands of people like me who have had very successful iridotomies. The only reason I'm writing now is to help "offset" all the unfounded negativism about iridotomies and hopefully prevent someone from going blind because they did not get a needed iridotomy due to some nonsense they read about it here or on other sites like "Prevent Blindness America."

Hi, 12829,

of course a bad outcome of an iridotomy can be due to an ophthalmologist not being competent. Iridotomy is a very tricky procedure which is not very often performed. If the doctor has little experience he might do it wrong. So it is extremely important to go to someone who does this surgery very often and has great experience.

But as with any surgery, you will never know the outcome. You even won't know why some patients of the same doctor have problems and others don't.

Discuss matters with Dr Anderson at 'Prevent Blindness America.'

Hi, everybody, and anon 13073,

I am truly not the only person with devastating outcome after an iridotomy procedure. Go to the above mentioned website of 'Prevent Blindness America' where hundreds of people complain about iridotomies. They have just opened a second thread, because the first with more than 1200 posts had become too long. Dr. Douglas R. Anderson MD from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute moderates the forum. He is a leading glaucoma specialist, and you can't doubt his expertise.

So if you say, there are no visual problems after iridotomies, why on earth did my ophthalmologist (I live in Kansas City) tell me that he doesn't do any iridotomies on patients who for their job depend on their car???

I agree, there are many people whose vision only changes slightly after an iridotomy, but for others it changes greatly. It is estimated that about 30% of all patients who had an iridotomy can't lead a normal life afterwards. That is an enormous percentage and it doesn't become smaller by denying it. I am so glad you had no problems!

Hello anon 12819, Patty, et al. Patty writes, "The vast majority of patients can't drive after having iridotomies, and more than 30% have to give up their job and can never work again." I don't want to upset Patty, but her statement is absolute nonsense on its face. No one who has any familiarity with iridotomy could possibly believe her above quoted statement to be true. Why do people write/post such blatant falsehoods? I wish I knew. No offense intended Patty. I personally know dozens of iridotomy patients, like myself, who have absolutely no "side effects" whatsoever from our iridotomies and I personally know no one who has had any problem with an iridotomy. We are all still driving our cars and, those of us not retired, doing our jobs just fine. That's not to say you haven't had any problems Patty, but it strongly suggests that you must be a very rare case, where things other than something caused by iridotomies are most likely in play. I'm truly sorry.

Hi, JohnK9,

This is what Dr.Douglas R. Anderson MD from Bascom Palmer Eye Institute wrote:

'On the issue of blue eyes. The structures in the angle are basically white or transparent, but show up with lightly dusted with pigment. Most eyes have some pigment debris from the iris that does this, even in blue eyes, but in some blue eyed people who are still young ..., there hasn't been enough pigment shed yet to make the structures easy to see. Sometimes when you don't see any angle structures, it is easy to think that probably the angle is closed or very narrow and that's why you don't see any structures. So that's why ... maybe a young person told she has narrow angles might have blue eyes and, in fact, open angles.'

You will find this quotation and an extensive discussion on iridotomies in the glaucoma section of Prevent Blindness America.

Patty

Patty,

You wrote the following:

"If you have blue eyes, as I have, doctors can easily diagnose you with narrow angles when in reality they are wide open."

Do you have a source for this?

Patty,

Personally, I have found this discussion quite upsetting. I recently saw a glaucoma specialist at Washington Univ Medical School here in St. Louis. My optic nerve is normal and my visual fields are normal, but my eye pressures have been bouncing around a bit which is unusual for me (24/25 in February, 28/29 in April, and down to 24 recently in May.) Typically, my pressures have been stable in 21/23 range. The doctor I saw highly recommended iridotomy in both eyes as a preventative measure against the effects of acute angle closure. Although I was unsure as to what I would decide before I came to this forum, I am now thoroughly confused as to how to proceed after reading this discussion. To those who have had a very outcome after the surgery, are you sure your doctor was competent? Did he/she have extensive experience in performing the surgery? Could it be in your cases the problem was with the doctor and not the procedure itself?

Anon 12225,

It is very prudent indeed to get a second opinion, but sometimes this is not enough. If you have blue eyes, as I have, doctors can easily diagnose you with narrow angles when in reality they are wide open. So useless iridotomies are done!! Iridotomy may a safe treatment or preventive measure for some patients, but that is not the simple fact of the matter. The second ophthalmologist I went to said to me that nobody has the same vision after iridotomies. For some the changes are minor and they can go on living as before. For many others the changes are major, but can be tolerated, though the impaired vision has negative effects on their life, e.g. they can't drive any longer and have to cut down on their working hours. And for still some others the changes in vision are devastating.

That ophthalmologist also told me that he doesn't do any iridotomies on patients who for their job depend on their car. The vast majority of patients can't drive after having had iridotomies, and more than 30% have to give up their job and can never work again. There are more and more ophthalmologists who take these facts into consideration and do fewer and fewer iridotomies. Besides, there are many different types of narrow angle glaucoma, and iridotomies are only effective for one or two types.

Patty

Hi, Anon 12225,

the scientists doing research about iridotomy in Japan conclude that this surgery is one of the leading causes of blindness in the country. They can only come to this conclusion after having taken thousands and thousands of patients who got iridotomies into consideration.

The reason is the speed and power with which the aqueous humor that goes through the iridotomy hole hits the cornea. As the hole is smaller than the pupil, the aqueous humor flows through the iridotomy hole with much power, hitting the cornea rather hard, which, after some months or even years, leads to corneal destruction.

This has been proved by hundreds of research papers.

You say there are thousands upon thousands of eyes which have had iridotomies and are just fine. How do you know this? Are there any statistics on that? Have you yourself done studies to prove it?

Just google for iridotomy (or iridotomie) and a word like 'forum'.You will find hundreds of people complaining in all languages about the adverse effects of this surgery which is wrongly called 'safe'. Dr Douglas R. Anderson MD of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida has often admitted (in the above mentioned forum) that adverse effects of iridotomy like glare, double vision, permanent rise in IOP, corneal damage, uveitis, synechias, loss of vision etc. do occur and that he has seen such patients.

As to cause and effect:

The day before my iridotomies were done I had 20/20 vision in both eyes. I didn't need glasses. The day after my iridotomies were done (they were both done on the same day) my vision was 20/100 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right eye. A month after the iridotomies vision in my left eye was 20/80 and 20/200 in my right eye with glasses! And it has not improved so far. My ophthalmologists, as well as the two others I went to, all admitted these were side effects of the iridotomies. The glare, double vision and posterior synechias I have were also the immediate effect of the iridotomies, as I was told. Besides, there are numerous companies producing special lenses to cover the iridotomy holes so as to avoid glare and double vision. Do you think these companies would be able to exist if there wasn't much demand for these lenses?

Could you cite one single evidence for your assertion that thousands of people have had no problems after iridotomies?

Kind regards, Fanny

Hi folks, this is anon 12225 responding. The Japanese and other studies/reports some of you cite relate to a selected few people who had iridotomies and later developed bullous keratopathy or some other eye malady. The studies completely overlook the thousands upon thousands of eyes which have had iridotomies and are just fine. The studies also overlook the countless thousands of eyes that never had an iridotomy yet suffer from bullous keratopathy or some other problem.

In particular, bullous keratopathy is a very common affliction of elderly eyes. So, of course, some people who have iridotomies will have bullous keratopathy as well, or develop it later due to aging, cataract surgery, or something else, but almost certainly not caused by having had an iridotomy. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise in any studies/reports to date and there has been a concerted effort to find a cause/effect relationship between iridotmy and lots of other eye problems, all to no avail, because there is no causative connection.

It would be like asserting that roosters crowing in the morning make the sun come up. Based upon years of experience and reams of factual data, iridotomy causing rampant bullous keratopathy or any other eye problems is frankly about as ridiculous a causal connection as the rooster/sun example.

Iridotomy is a very safe, effective treatment or preventive measure for closed-angle glaucoma. That is the simple fact of the matter. If your ophthalmologist recommends iridotomies, get a second opinion if you like, that's prudent, but when you hear the recommendation twice, get the iridotomies, which may well save your sight.

Hi, Anon 12225,

I suppose you are an ophthalmologist. Could you please help me. After the iridotomies my vision dropped from 20/20 (without glasses) in both eyes to 20/80 in my left eye and 20/200 in my right eye (with glasses). How can I regain my vision?

How can I get rid of double vision and glare? Besides I have posterior synechias. Can anything be done for that? Thanks in advance.

I am so glad some people finally draw attention to the adverse effects of this surgery which has destroyed my vision and consequently my life. I read that iridotomies have far greater risks than e.g. trabeculectomies or even shunt surgery. Some of the side effects are immediate, like blurred vision, glare, diplopia and inflammation and they do NOT subside. Others are long-term effects like corneal decomposition.

I searched the net and only found one single positive testimony (here, by Anon 9383). All other testimonies are negative. I went to the site mentioned above about Iridotomy, and people on that forum try hard to find any positive testimony, but in vain. There isn't.

I asked my doctor whether I could talk to someone who had had the operation beforehand, but he didn't find any. A surgery that is meant to preserve vision kills it. That's the sad reality.

Anon 12225,

iridotomy is by no means a safe procedure, and the adverse effects of this surgery are of growing concern in Japan, but not only there.

Quotation: 'Bullous keratopathy may arise many years following ALI [ArgonLaser Iridotomy], and is a growing problem in Asian countries. This condition is a major cause of ocular morbidity in Japan, which has seen a worrying increase in the number of cases in recent years.'

Web addresses are not allowed here, but you can easily find the link by googling the quotation.

Here is another quotation: 'In 1984, Pollack2 reported the first case of irreversible corneal edema after ALI, and in 1988, Schwartz et al3 reported more cases of phakic bullous keratopathy and concluded that corneal edema was a serious complication of ALI. The incidence of this devastating disorder is increasing yearly, and, in Japan, ALI-induced bullous keratopathy is now recognized as the second most common corneal disease.'

Complications range from blurred vision, pupillary abnormalities, diplopia, glare, endothelial burns and cell loss, corneal edema, uveitis, synechiae, hemorrhage,elevation of IOP, lens opacities, retinal damage, loss of central VA, and many more.

Anon 12225,

Bullous keratopathy is a well-known long-term side-effect of iridotomy in Japan.

I quote: 'Bullous keratopathy may arise many years following ALI, and is a growing problem in Asian countries. This condition is a major cause of ocular morbidity in Japan, which has seen a worrying increase in the number of cases in recent years.'

Web addresses are not allowed in posts, but you will easily find the address when googling the above words.

You can also google for another research done in Japan:

'Demonstration of Aqueous Streaming Through a Laser - Iridotomy Window Against the Corneal Endothelium'.

Here the scientific explanations are given why this keratopathy happens after iridotomies. I could give you many more links.

Very little research has been done so far as to the long-term side-effects of iridotomy, though the procedure has been around for more than 50 years. Iridotomies certainly save some people's eyesight, but destroy other people's eyesight. No surgery is without serious side-effects. Anon 11640

Anon 11640, you write, "In Japan iridotomies are the second leading cause of blindness." That is not true. Glaucoma is probably the second leading cause of blindness, cataracts being by far the leading cause of blindness in Japan and around the world. Iridotomy is a very effective treatment and preventive measure for closed-angle glaucoma. Iridotomy prevents blindness, it doesn't even make the list of things that cause it.

Hi, I have carefully read all the comments here and found them very interesting indeed. I created a support group for people who suffer from adverse effects after iridotomies. The complaints put forward by the members of my group vary from disturbances like occasional glare and double vision to severe visual impairment and even complete loss of sight. All ophthalmologists agree that each and every surgery has side effects, and iridotomy is no exception. In Japan iridotomies are the second leading cause of blindness. In the US and in Europe no research has yet been performed concerning the long-term side effects of this surgery. If some scientists do that in the future their findings will surely be an eye opener for all those doctors who don't take complications after iridotomies seriously.

Hi, everybody,

my doctor said I needed iridotomies. I went to get a second opinion, and that doctor told me I had Shaffer grade 3, so iridotomies were not yet necessary.

I have read all the posts here. Of course there are people who have few and people who have many side effects. But my doctor told me that everybody has some side effects after iridotomy.

What to believe?

Well, anon 9383,

I am sorry, but what you wrote makes me decide against iridotomies. Someone who insults others cannot tell the truth!

To anon 9383,

you write:

We live in a very litigious society and I suspect many iridotomy "victims" are out for the financial gain of a lawsuit award. Like whiplash "victims" in a car accident. That's terrible.

It should be clear to the dullest observer that iridotomy "victim" support groups are in the same category as UFO support groups...

How do you dare to make such statements?

Even the above article which we are discussing mentions these side effects.

I am a member of an 'iridotomy support group', and I can assure you I have personally met many people who suffer because of iridotomies.

When this surgery is done after a person has had a glaucoma attack, ok. But it is mostly done preventatively on healthy eyes which are very often just slightly narrow. And that is wrong!

Besides, many people still have glaucoma attacks after the iridotomy, because there are at least 5 or 6 different sorts of narrow angle glaucoma, which are very difficult to distinguish, and iridotomies are only effective with one or two sorts of narrow angle glaucoma.

Just be glad that you didn't have any adverse effects and don't insult those who suffer.

Such insults don't make your arguments convincing, on the contrary!

You've done iridotomies a huge disservice!

Hi, everybody,

I just read that the FDA, which at present is investigating the side effects of LASIK, will soon perform an investigation into the adverse effects of iridotomy. During the last year they got hundreds of letters complaining about this surgery.

Hi, 9383,

I can't take your comments any more seriously than UFOs.

You are not a doctor, and yet you qualify all those who write about the side effects of iridotomies as liars. There are so many research papers on the net where all those dire side effects of iridotomies are analysed. Unfortunately we cannot posts links here. Would you say these doctors who write the research papers are all liars? I would call this attitude presumptuous.

I would like to know the name of that doctor who provides mailing lists with 100 (!) people so that patients can contact them.

My doctor couldn't even name one single person who would be willing to give him his telephone number so that I could contact him.

And your doctor gave you 100 names! Astonishing.

Fanny

Hi, 9383,

who are you? A doctor who wants to earn money by doing iridotomies?

Who are you to say that all those who have problems after an iridotomy are liars?

Who are you to compare side effects of a surgery to UFOs?

I had iridotomies done 2 years ago. I lost one of my eyes, because the doctor used too much energy and the laser burnt my cornea, my iris and my lens, so that finally the eye had to be taken out.

The other eye has double vision, glare, strange flashes of light and inflammation. I lost most of my vision in that eye too. I am legally blind.

Hi again, this is anon 9492/9712 once more. This is my third and final post on this. The laser iridotomy eye operation has probably saved more people from optic nerve damage and even blindness than any other eye procedure. It is among the safest eye operations.

Several years ago I had iridotomies done on both my eyes to prevent acute closed-angle glaucoma which I was at very high risk of having because of advancing age, being farsighted, having relatively small eyes, IOP of about 20, etc.

Other than having iridotmies myself and therefore being very interested in them, I have no dog in this fight, as the expression goes. I am not a doctor or associated with the medical field in any way, nor is anyone else in my family or any friends. I am a graduate electrical engineer. All my life I've made thoughtful decisions based on data and credible facts, not rumor, fear, or the madness of crowds.

I did due diligence before doing anything to my precious eyes. When I was discussing the pros and cons of having iridotomies with him, my opthamologist gave me a list of about 100 of his iridotomy patients to contact, from whom he had gotten permission. Because their response was so positive, I stopped after I had contacted, by phone, 57 of them. None of them had the slightest problem with their iridotomy(s). 29 or them regreted that they were not aware of and had not done the iridotomies sooner because they had an acute closed-angle glaucoma attack which damaged their optic nerve and impaired/diminished their vision in one eye. Those folks did an iridotomy on their remaining "good" eye as well and have not had any problem with it. The other 28 did it, as I did, and none of them have had any problem --- and no acute closed-angle glaucoma attacks. In fact when I called them, many had forgotten that they even had iridotomies! I added my name to my opthomologist's list and have since received a few calls myself. I've even had some call-backs thanking me for encouraging them to get iridotomies.

I don't expect any of these real facts, or the overwhelming weight of medical literature, etc. will change the minds of anon 9534, Fanny, cyril, anon 9610, Pamela3, etc., but hopefully future readers of these posts will read mine, along with theirs, and not be discouraged or needlessly terrorized by largely unfounded tales of doom because of having an iridotomy.

We live in a very litigious society and I suspect many iridotomy "victims" are out for the financial gain of a lawsuit award. Like whiplash "victims" in a car accident. That's terrible.

It should be clear to the dullest observer that iridotomy "victim" support groups are in the same category as UFO support groups, etc. There are undoubtedly millions of persons in the world who have

some sort of "trouble" with their eyes, but it's not due to an iridotomy except perhaps in the rarest of cases. There are valid support groups, such as cancer and heart/stroke support groups and then there are bogus support groups --- the internet is replete with them. They flourish for the same reason that thousands believe there is a vast government conspiracy to keep the "truth" about UFO's and space aliens from all of us. Nonsense. Don't be taken in.

If there were any significant problems with iridotomies doctors certainly couldn't suppress the problems --- trying to hide something is the thing that trial lawyers, our courts, and the media thrive on and love to expose the most. Use your common sense folks!

Bottom line: If your opthomologist recommends iridotomies, do your own research, including reading/considering all the fear-mongering posts, but in the end get iridotomies to easily avoid an acute closed-angle glaucoma attack and the resulting probable damage to your optic nerve, up to and including blindness. Don't be a fool. That's it. Thank you for reading this.

anon 9492,

you write: Could it be that the folks posting all the bad stuff are after monetary gain?

This is simply absurd! What money could anyone earn when writing about the side effects of a certain surgery?

You write:

if the high "failure" rate and debilitating side effects they mention were true, it would be widely known, there would be exposes written about it, attorneys would be advertising on TV to sue, etc., etc.

This exactly is the crux! Those side effects are widely known by patients, but the doctors don't want to admit them. They have learned that iridotomies are harmless, and they still believe this even if their patients complain about their problems.

There are many companies manufacturing special tinted lenses to help all those who have visual disturbances after iridotomies, and there are many doctors specialized in suturing the iridotomy hole, so that patients will have no more double vision.

Many patients have tried to catch the mass media's attention (e. g. written to Sanjay Gupta), but every criticism concerning iridotomies has been crushed down by doctors.

But more and more groups of 'iridotomy victims' are raising their voices. Patients should be informed about the side effects, and this surgery should only be done to prevent an imminent glaucoma attack.

Hi, anon9492,

yesterday I posted the reference to a website on iridotomies along with my message and got an e-mail from the administrator of this site telling me not to post such links.

If you google for iridotomy, Danderson (the doctor moderating that forum) and for some of the participants like anthony or lunabud, you will find that site. It has existed for only 3 months, and there are almost 800 posts only on iridotomies.

That will be an eye opener when you read that forum.

The truth is that the complication rate of iridotomies is much higher than for any other eye surgery.

There are support groups of people suffering from the adverse effects of iridotomies in the USA, in Germany, in France.

Iridotomy is one of the leading causes of blindness in Japan.

But doctors won't admit all this, so patients must speak up.

Hi, everybody,

get a second or third opinion before having an iridotomy done. With most people the side-effects are devastating. You lose so much vision and you will never be able to live a normal life after an iridotomy. Quite a lot of people even become legally blind.

Hi. This is anon 9492 again. Since my original post of only a few days ago, regarding my very satisfactory iridotomies, it is amazing how quickly anon 9534, Fanny, cyril, anon 9610 jumped on it and write that I am very lucky and must be some rare exception to have iridotomies with no disastrous side effects. It's as if they were poised to slam anything good about an iridotomy. The facts are that over many years there have been thousands of iridotomies done to treat or prevent acute angle-closure glaucoma and the vast majority, 99+++ %, are entirely successful and without any side effects whatsoever. Common sense should tell you that in our society today, if the high "failure" rate and debilitating side effects they mention were true, it would be widely known, there would be exposes written about it, attorneys would be advertising on TV to sue, etc., etc. Could it be that the folks posting all the bad stuff are after monetary gain? What kind of eye problem(s) did they have that prompted their iridotomies? How qualified, experienced was the doctor who did them? Of course I don't know the answers to those questions, but the terrible iridotomy assertions made, while they may be true for themselves, are certainly not true for any significant number of persons who have an iridotomy. Any complications or side effects from an iridotomy are extremely rare, and that's the fact of the matter. So stop needlessly scaring folks. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

Of all eye surgeries iridotomy is the one with the most severe adverse-effects. It leads to very poor vision brought about by glare, dipolopia, cataract, corneal troubles, retinal detachment and rise in IOP.

There are very few people who have no adverse effects after iridotomy. Glare, double vision, uveitis and high IOP are very frequent side - effects. Normally visual acuity drops dramatically. Hardly anybody who had an iridotomy can go on driving and many lose their obs.

Hi, 9492,

I'm glad you had no side-effects after your iridotomies.

But most people have devastating side-effects.

Even the head of glaucoma department at Wills Eye Hospital recently said that too many iridotomies are being done!

Iridotomy is major surgery and dramatically impairs vision.

anon9492,

you seem to be one of the lucky few who had no side effects after an iridotomy.

I know 6 people who had to undergo that surgery, and all of them have severe side effects: glare, monocular diplopia, inflammation, high pressure, a white line in the centre of their vision, early cataract development, loss of visual acuity.

I myself have double vision and uveitis. My iridotomies were done one year ago.

I've had preventive iridotomies done on both eyes some time ago and my vision has remained perfect, with no side effects whatsoever. Furthermore, before I had the procedure done, I spoke at length with dozens of other persons who had iridotomies and none of them had even the slightest problem. I realize that is only anecdotal evidence, but it was overwhelming for me. And sure enough, just as all the bone fide medical literature suggests, I'm fine as well. So if you are at high risk for acute closed-angle glaucoma, by all means get iridotomies.

Hello, tennisracket,

I do hope your left eye didn't get an iridotomy!

When you have an iridotomy done to both your eyes, you will never be able to see normally. The side - effects are just horrid: double vision, glare, inflammation which often develops into uveitis, white line in the middle of your vision, strange flashes of light, decrease in visual acuity (normally 3 Snellen lines), decrease in vision, corneal damage, retinal holes, and above all a severe, lifelong rise in IOP.

Studies found out that the cut out debris of the iris obstructs the trabecular meshwork. On enucleated eyes it was found out that even after 12 years there was still debris in the eyes. So after an iridotomy your pressure will rise enormously, so that you will need very invasive surgery (trabeculectomy or implant). An iridotomy always leads to untreatable glaucoma.

Hi, tennisracket,

I hope you didn't have the surgery done on your second eye!

Vision never returns to normal after an iridotomy.

Iridotomy is very tricky to perform, and many doctors don't really know how to do it, especially if they don't do it often.

About 99% of the patients who have had an iridotomy have visual disturbances. Some adjust to it, most don't. Often the disturbances are so severe that people lose their jobs. Quite a lot of suicide cases due to iridotomies have been reported.

Corneal and retinal damages are frequent as is life-long inflammation.

As a preventive measure this procedure should never be done, because the risks far outweigh the eventual benefits.

Cindy

Maddy, you are right.

I can only warn people not to have an iridotomy done! If you have a glaucoma attack, it might be wise to have an iridotomy, but this surgery should never be done as a preventive measure.

It severely impairs your vision. You will have long-lasting inflammation and glare and double vision for the rest of your life. Many people who have had an iridotomy try special contact lenses, special glasses even undergo another surgery to have the hole sutured. But it is all in vain. After an iridotomy you will never be able to see normally.

So take care.

Philip

Hello tennisracket,

by now it may be too late for you to follow my advice, but I can only warn you.

Never do an iridotomy on your second eye! You will always experience strange things in your vision. After the iridotomy you have a second pupil, so you see everything twice, and this double vision is nauseating. You may also have inflammation for the rest of your life (as I am having). Keratopathy is very frequent, too. It may be that your cornea doesn't heal, and this will cause you lifelong pain (that's what I am experiencing).

So discuss matters with your doctor, but be careful. Doctors are reluctant to admit that there are side-effects to their treatment.

I wish you all the best. Make a wise decision.

Maddy

I recently had an iridotomy on my right eye which was successful EXCEPT that my vision seems to be different now..ie there are blotches and jagged edges (like pixels).

I am having an iridotomy in my left eye next week and am now anxious about the consequences. My left eye has 20/20 vision and NO jagged edges or blotches. What can I expect?

Thank you for a prompt reply. Surgery is on Wednesday, 10/14.