SLT laser surgery procedure

[hirsey12]

I’m new to the group and was diagnosed with glaucoma in April. SLT was recommended on my right eye which had a really high pressure of 51. Since then I’ve been using eye drops which have brought the pressure down to 19.

This may be a silly question but how do you stop yourself blinking through the procedure? Do they clamp your eye open? If so, I find that quite off putting. The consultant only mentioned the contact lens which goes over your eye so they can see the mesh work and aim the laser at it.

[Beecalmed]

The contact lense that goes over your eye aided by ubber amounts of gel stops you blinking in that eye effectively. Not actually as bad as it sounds. The other eye can still blink whilst the procedure is happening. There’s no pain. Just sitting with head in the chin support as you do at opticians can be a bit uncomfortable at most after a while. You don’t really feel the laser either. Just the sound of it zapping. The whole thing is over quite quickly. I’ve had SLT in one eye and about to have it again in other eye next month. After its over you’ll wonder what you were worried about!

[Dumyat26 in reply to Beecalmed]

I've had SLT twice. (first diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes more than 10 years ago. The first time in one eye, a nurse held my head steady from behind. This time (March 2022) I had SLT to both eyes since pressures were raised due to no consultations during pandemic. No nurse so had to hold head steady by myself but as your head and chip are positioned in machine this is not a problem. 80 zaps to each eye which felt like a long time as I counted each zap. You are given a local anaesthetic so don't feel anything. The procedure does seem to work as my pressures were reduced to near normal when retested a few weeks later. It honestly is not a procedure to be concerned about.

[hirsey12 in reply to Dumyat26]

Thanks for your reply, very useful to know. 80 zaps sounds like a lot if you’re counting each individual one but you’d forget about it later I suppose and if it works it would be worth it

[hirsey12 in reply to Beecalmed]

Thanks so much for your reply, that’s very useful to know and I might book the procedure now

[Beecalmed in reply to hirsey12]

SLT is now the preferred first line treatment as recommended by NICE and research has found SLT to be as effective a treatment as drops. SLT could prevent you needing additional drops and in some cases avoid needing any drops altogether. 👍🏻

[goodtotalk in reply to Beecalmed]

I’m having SLT in both eyes tomorrow afternoon. I’ve just read your post & feel less nervous now. If you see this, if you work, did you need any post-treatment time off?

[Beecalmed in reply to goodtotalk]

Hi! From memory I wasn’t told I needed to take time off but I took a few days off anyway, just to rest my eyes after the op. Straight after the ops I had a slight headache and my eyes were sensitive to bright light, I think due to the drops they put in, but the day after the op I was back to normal.

[goodtotalk in reply to Beecalmed]

Thank you, Beecalmed. I realise we all react differently but knowing what to maybe expect is really helpful 👍

[Beecalmed in reply to goodtotalk]

I agree! Hope SLT works for you! I was initially told it hadn’t worked for he, but that opinion was later revised, as my IOPs reduced and my glaucoma progression stabilised! 🙂

[goodtotalk in reply to Beecalmed]

Well, I was done & out in 30mins today! Felt it in left eye more than right but was painless & my Dr is really great at explaining things.

Eyes feel a bit tired & gritty feeling tonight but pleasantly surprised really. Fingers crossed it stabilised my POAG too 👀 👍🏼

[Spanieldoglover]

Hi, as Beecalmed said SLT is now the recommended first line of treatment and I had it in both eyes shortly after I was diagnosed with Glaucoma. For me, so far 🤞, it has been very successful in bringing down the pressures in my eyes and currently I do not need any drops. Also as others have said, it’s a really quick procedure, you don’t feel anything and you don’t have to worry about blinking. I know anything like this sounds scary, but it really isn’t. Good luck!

[hirsey12 in reply to Spanieldoglover]

Thanks for your comments, very useful information

[BonnieMagic]

Nothing more to add to the great comments above but just to wish you good luck with SLT. It’s far less scary than it sounds honestly 😄

[hirsey12 in reply to BonnieMagic]

Thanks so much for your reassuring comments

[Gigi100]

I had the laser about 2 hours after I was first diagnosed with glaucoma. The right eye was done first, then 2 days later the left. The Opthamologist said it would feel like someone poked me in the eye and that I might need some paracetamol or ibuprofen for the next 2 days. It was a little sore, nothing to worry about, paracetamol did the trick. By day 2 it subsided a lot, ready for the next eye! I got some eye drops popped in, it must have been the anaesthetic then a lense was popped onto my eye, that must have been the grid, meanwhile I was told to focus on a light with my head on a chin support and head strapped in at the top with a nurse also pushing my head forward. She was also telling me to breathe. As I was a bit shell shocked by the whole experience, my recollection of time was poor. I did start to count to sixty on my left hand, I got to 28. I do remember the Opthamologist telling me it was more like 90. So it probably goes for about 2 minutes. You can see a fine red flash in your eye whilst it’s happening, overall I survived it.

All the best , I hope it goes well for you.

[hirsey12 in reply to Gigi100]

Thanks so much for the useful insight. Your procedure was very quick, did you go private? In my area there’s a 6 month wait for SLT on the NHS.

[Gigi100 in reply to hirsey12]

Hi, I’m in Brisbane, Australia. Yes, I did go private. My stay was in the private system, suspected stroke (Tia). Unfortunately the cost is $1000 per eye, and I should get $800 back per eye as we’ve reached the Medicare threshold and the rebates are higher (which is good). I can’t comment on the NHS. The Opthamologist said it’s the preferred “ first treatment” and if it works more cost effective than using drops. So I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, ie when pressures will be tested etc. Thanks for you reply, all the best. I hope it all goes well for you.