Canaloplasty: popularity growing

Article

Canaloplasty with tensioning suture placement is growing in popularity owing to a combination of factors, including a successful training programme, an improved reimbursement picture, and favourable long-term data, said Richard A. Lewis, MD.

Canaloplasty with tensioning suture placement is growing in popularity owing to a combination of factors, including a successful training programme, an improved reimbursement picture, and favourable long-term data, said Richard A. Lewis, MD.

Canaloplasty is a nonpenetrating procedure performed under a scleral flap in which a microcatheter (iTrack; iScience) is used with an ophthalmic viscosurgical device (Healon GV; AMO) to viscodilate the canal prior to passing a tensioning suture through the circumference of Schlemm's canal. The procedure is indicated for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma, especially in patients expected to be at high risk for trabeculectomy failure or in those where there is increased concern about further loss of vision, said Dr Lewis, a private practitioner in Sacramento, US.

Recently published clinical results from a prospective study including 168 patients showed that at baseline, mean IOP was 23.9 mmHg with a mean of 1.9 medications used per patient. At 24 months, the mean IOP was reduced by 36% to 15.2 mmHg with patients on an average of 0.6 medications. Although complications occurred, there were no cases of flat or shallow anterior chambers, infections, wound leaks, or choroidal effusion.

So far, 150 surgeons in the United States and 70 surgeons internationally have been trained in the procedure, and more than 1,500 procedures have been performed worldwide.

"This procedure has progressed to a stage where surgeons have begun to innovate beyond the initial technique," Dr Lewis said. "Additional surgical tools will continue to expand microcatheter clinical indications and treatment options for glaucoma surgery, and the power of microcatheter-based drug delivery is a particularly exciting and promising technique for all of ophthalmology."

 

Read

ASCRS 2008 meeting highlights.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Christine Curcio, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, shares histology update and revised nomenclature for OCT with Sheryl Stevenson of the Eye Care Network and Ophthalmology Times
SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO, shares key points from his retina presentation at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium
Robert Sergott, MD, describes fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and the International SPECTRALIS Symposium – And Beyond (ISS) in Heidelberg, Germany.
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.