Preserving Conjunctiva, the ‘Real Estate’ of Glaucoma Surgeons

Glaucoma management is as challenging as diagnosing it. Achieving sustained intraocular pressure that will retard the progression of the disease is the principal objective of its management. Many a times, this requires a combination of antiglaucoma medications, Lasers and surgery. No doubt, medical therapy is usually the mainstay of glaucoma management but in some cases, it fails to adequately control the intraocular pressure. The very effective surgical interventions for glaucoma depend on the health of the conjunctiva to achieve their success. So, meticulous evaluation of the conjunctiva is one of the indispensable preoperative considerations before deciding on any conjunctiva-dependent surgery. In addition, in managing any patient with ocular problem who also has glaucoma, it is imperative that the possibility of future surgery involving the conjunctiva must be considered. Therefore, the conjunctiva of all glaucoma patients must be handled with care.