Home > Encyclopedia of Surgery > Trabeculectomy

Definition

Trabeculectomy is a surgical procedure that removes part of the trabeculum in the eye to relieve pressure caused by glaucoma.

Purpose

Glaucoma is a disease that injures the optic nerve, causing progressive vision loss. Glaucoma is a major cause of blindness in the United States. If caught early, glaucoma-related blindness is easily prevented. However, because it does not produce symptoms until late in its cycle, periodic tests for the disease are necessary.

Glaucoma is usually associated with an increase in the pressure inside the eye, called intraocular pressure (IOP). This increase occurs in front of the iris in a fluid called the aqueous humor. Aqueous humor exits through tiny channels between the iris and the cornea, in an area called the trabeculum. When the trabeculum...