Abstract

Medical treatment followed by bilateral simultaneous iridectomy appears to be an effective basis for managing a patient who presents with acute glaucoma. Admission to hospital is seldom necessary. There was minimal evidence that delay in starting treatment caused more sight to be lost, but as the patient's age increased the prognosis for recovery of sight in an affected eye decreased quite significantly. The long-term prognosis for the sight of an individual patient who has had prophylactic iridectomy in the unaffected eye is excellent.