slt laser

[joeblow6572]

i have a couple questions i just had a slt laser for my glaucoma in my left eye.they then checked my pressure after maybe a half hour later.how long does it take for the slt to begin working? and why did they check my eye pressure so soon afterwards would my eye pressure go down that quickly?i then need to return in 6 weeks for another pressure check.

[JohnHaganMD]

Good questions Joe.  1 there are a small number of people that after SLT have a big spike in pressure. To prevent this certain drops are used at the time of treatment. Since some of the people having SLT have severe glaucoma a spike of pressure could cause severe damage.  So checking IOP 30-90 minutes post treatment is standard  of care.  It takes about 6-8 weeks for the result of the SLT to be known. Average lowering is 2-3 points but some have much more lowering. A few perhaps 10% do not respond with any lowering.