Focusing on surgical and laser advances in glaucoma management

Introduction: Lowering the IOP remains the mainstay treatment to stop the progression of glaucoma. Different modalities can be used to achieve this including IOP lowering medications, laser, and surgeries. Nowadays, minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries and newer lasers are becoming more popular due to their safety profile, and their efficacy, allowing the patients to be less dependent on life long medications and substituting more invasive procedures as trabeculectomy, and shunt operations. Areas covered: This review will go through how lasers and surgery are used to lower the IOP, and the newest techniques, and modalities used to achieve this. Expert opinion: the authors of this review believe that in five years' time lasers and minimally invasive glaucoma procedures will replace eye drops and surgeries like trabeculectomy and shunt procedures.