One type of glaucoma is called narrow (closed) angle glaucoma. With narrow angles, the iris blocks the trabecular meshwork’s opening, causing a sudden, severe rise in eye pressure. This can cause halos around lights, severe pain, and rapid vision loss.
Your doctor may perform imaging and/or gonioscopy to take a closer look at the angles to evaluate your risk of developing chronic narrow angle glaucoma or acute angle closure glaucoma. If deemed necessary, a treatment plan will be discussed.
In most cases, narrow angle glaucoma is treated by YAG laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI). The laser is used to create a small opening in the iris for fluid drainage. This may be preventative or may be performed in an emergency setting to prevent permanent vision loss and may need to be repeated depending on the iris color. Risks of bleeding, inflammation and a temporary increase in eye pressure are small. There are no postoperative restrictions. Your eye doctor typically prescribes an anti-inflammatory eye drop for a few days to help limit any post-laser irritation.
In some cases, your doctor may recommend cataract surgery instead of a YAG LPI. Because artificial lenses are much thinner than the natural cataract lens, such replacement reduces the crowding that causes narrow angles in the first place.