to report surgical results of canaloplasty surgery for primary open - angle glaucoma ( poag ) in japanese patients . three eyes of 3 patients underwent canaloplasty alone and 8 eyes of 6 patients underwent canaloplasty combined with cataract surgery . canaloplasty was performed with a 10 - 0 polypropylene tensioning suture and an itrack 250a microcatheter . mean number of antiglaucoma drops was 2.8  0.6 before canaloplasty and decreased to 1.2  0.8 at 12 months after canaloplasty ( p < 0.01 ) . mean iop decreased postoperatively , being 13.7  2.8 mm hg at 1 month , 12.8  3.5 mm hg at 3 months , 14.0  4.4 mm hg at 6 months , and 15.0  4.1 mm hg at 12 months . the most frequent postoperative complication was mild hyphema ( 45.5% ) , which disappeared within 14 days after surgery . canaloplasty may be an alternative surgery for poag patients to reduce iop to a value of approximately 15 mm hg . canaloplasty is a new nonpenetrating glaucoma surgery that is expected to increase physiological aqueous outflow from the anterior chamber through the trabeculo - descemet 's window into schlemm 's canal [ 1 , 2 ] . using the flexible itrack 250a microcatheter ( iscience interventional , menlo park , calif . , usa ) , designed especially for canaloplasty , 10 - 0 polypropylene tensioning suture is installed into schlemm 's canal circumferentially . we studied the surgical results of canaloplasty surgery for japanese primary open - angle glaucoma ( poag ) patients . nine patients ( 11 eyes ) of poag treated at toyama university hospital between december 2008 and june 2009 were included in this study . three eyes of 3 patients underwent canaloplasty alone and 8 eyes of 6 patients underwent canaloplasty combined with phacoemulsification / aspiration and intraocular lens implantation ( pea + iol ) . written informed consent was obtained from each of the patients after they were provided with sufficient information about the procedures . the mean age of the patients was 71.7  8.5 years ( mean  standard deviation ) . surgical techniques were as follows . briefly , after limbal conjunctival peritomy , a superficial parabolic flap approximately 4 mm wide and 5 mm long was created at the 12 o'clock limbus . after injection of viscoelastic material into the ostia of schlemm 's canal , 10 - 0 polypropylene tensioning suture was installed using an itrack 250a microcatheter . the iop was measured at 1 , 3 , 6 , and 12 months postoperatively . mean iops were 13.7  2.8 mm hg at 1 month , 12.8  3.5 mm hg at 3 months , 14.0  4.4 mm hg at 6 months , and 15.0  4.1 mm hg at 12 months ( fig . statistical analysis was carried out by a paired t test and dunn 's multiple comparison analysis . all postoperative mean iops were significantly decreased compared to the preoperative iop of 23.4  5.5 mm hg ( p < 0.001 or p < 2 shows an image of the anterior segment optical coherence tomography ( casia ; tomey corporation , nagoya , japan ) , which indicated the tensioned and dilated schlemm 's canal ( arrows ) at 12 months after canaloplasty surgery . a kaplan - meier survival model was used for cumulative probability of qualified success with or without medications ( fig . the qualified success rate of an iop of 21 , 18 , and 16 mm hg or less at 12 months was 81.8 , 54.5 , and 54.5% , respectively ( fig . the mean postoperative number of antiglaucoma drops was significantly reduced to 1.2  0.8 ( p < 0.01 ) . the most frequent postoperative complication was mild hyphema ( 45.5% ) , which disappeared within 14 days after the surgery without detrimental effect . we showed a similar mean postoperative iop of 15.0  4.1 mm hg at 12 months after canaloplasty . because this was a retrospective study canaloplasty reduced the mean postoperative number of antiglaucoma drops and it may be suitable to reduce the iop to a value of approximately 15 mm hg . mild hyphema was the most frequent postoperative complication ( 45.5% ) . during the installation of the itrack 250a microcatheter into schlemm 's canal , mild bleeding from the trabecular tissue into the anterior chamber koch et al .   reported that anterior chamber hemorrhage with hyphema was found in 15 of 21 eyes ( 71.4% ) on day 1 after canaloplasty , and the eyes without hyphema showed higher iop than those with hyphema . it is possible that microperforation may be one of the mechanisms of iop reduction by canaloplasty surgery . although long - term results of canaloplasty have not been clarified yet , canaloplasty may be an alternative method for japanese patients with poag when the desired pressure is around 15 mm hg .
purposeto report surgical results of canaloplasty surgery for primary open - angle glaucoma ( poag ) in japanese patients.methodseleven eyes of 9 poag patients underwent canalopasty surgery at toyama university hospital . 
 three eyes of 3 patients underwent canaloplasty alone and 8 eyes of 6 patients underwent canaloplasty combined with cataract surgery . 
 canaloplasty was performed with a 10 - 0 polypropylene tensioning suture and an itrack 250a microcatheter . 
 all patients were followed up for 12 months . 
 changes in intraocular pressure ( iop ) and postoperative complications were examined.resultsmean preoperative iop was 23.4  5.5 mm hg . 
 mean number of antiglaucoma drops was 2.8  0.6 before canaloplasty and decreased to 1.2  0.8 at 12 months after canaloplasty ( p < 0.01 ) . 
 mean iop decreased postoperatively , being 13.7  2.8 mm hg at 1 month , 12.8  3.5 mm hg at 3 months , 14.0  4.4 mm hg at 6 months , and 15.0  4.1 mm hg at 12 months . 
 the most frequent postoperative complication was mild hyphema ( 45.5% ) , which disappeared within 14 days after surgery.conclusionscanaloplasty may be an alternative surgery for poag patients to reduce iop to a value of approximately 15 mm hg .