Peripheral Iridotomy
Date issued: June 2025
Review date: June 2027
Leaflet section: Ophthalmology
PDF: Peripheral Iridotomy.pdf [pdf] 135KB
Ophthalmology
What is Peripheral Iridotomy laser?
Laser peripheral iridotomy is used either as a treatment for patients with angle-closure glaucoma, or to prevent angle-closure glaucoma in people who are at risk of developing it.
Angle-closure describes critical narrowing of the eye’s drainage angle, causing the eye pressure to quickly rise to very high levels. This can rapidly damage the optic nerve and may cause a type of irreversible sight loss known as glaucoma.
This procedure works by using laser energy to create a small hole in the iris (the coloured part at the front of the eye), which helps the drainage angle to open.
Why should I have this treatment?
The aim of this treatment is to prevent very high eye pressure caused by angle-closure, so reducing the risk of sight loss from glaucoma. If performed early in patients with narrow angles, the chance of successfully preventing angle-closure is between 66 -75 per cent. In more advanced cases, medications and/or surgery may also be required.
What to expect on the day?
You may eat and drink as normal and take your usual eye medication. Please be prepared to be in our care for half a day. The treatment will be carried out in one of our laser rooms.
Drops will be put into your eye, one drop to protect against a rise in eye pressure, one numbing drop, and one drop to make the pupil smaller. This last drop may give you a headache and slightly blur the vision. You can take paracetamol to ease any discomfort.
You will be asked to sit at a machine similar to the one used to examine your eyes in clinic, but with a laser attached. A contact lens will be placed on your eye. The treatment takes approximately 15 minutes per eye.
Half an hour after the procedure we will check the pressure in your eye. You can return to work the next day or carry on with your usual activities.
What are the risks?
Complications are usually mild and include inflammation, bleeding from the iris, and sometimes an increase in eye pressure. If your eye pressure increases, then you may need to stay with us longer while we give you additional treatment. It is also quite common to notice some floaters after the procedure.
It is natural for the eye to be a little red and sore and the vision to be altered for about six hours. Please do not worry as the drops you are given after the procedure will help control this. Please continue with your usual eye drops unless instructed otherwise.
If you experience increasing redness, worsening pain or loss of vision for more than 24 hours, let us know.
We will see you again at a six-week review, which can sometimes be done by a community Optometrist. We will know then if the procedure was successful.
Other formats
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01752 439694
