Interventional Glaucoma | Scott and Christie Eyecare Associates

Interventional Glaucoma

A proactive approach to protecting your vision and reducing your reliance on daily eye drops.

Glaucoma care is changing, and at Scott & Christie Eyecare Associates, we're proud to bring Western Pennsylvania a more advanced, more proactive way to manage one of the most common causes of permanent vision loss. Interventional glaucoma allows us to act earlier, using today's most advanced procedures and drug-delivery technologies to protect the optic nerve sooner, reduce the long-term treatment burden on patients, and help more people hold on to their vision longer.

For patients, that often means:

Fewer (or no) daily drops
More predictable, consistent eye pressure control
Less reliance on remembering, refilling, and paying for ongoing prescriptions
Earlier protection for the optic nerve

Schedule an appointment

A Smarter, Earlier Approach to Protecting Your Sight

What is Interventional Glaucoma?

For decades, glaucoma has typically been managed in stages: start with daily eye drops, layer on additional drops over time, and turn to surgery only once the disease has progressed. While drops have always played, and will continue to play, an important role in glaucoma care, interventional glaucoma allows us to take active control of eye pressure earlier in the disease course.

Interventional glaucoma is a treatment philosophy that prioritizes early, minimally invasive procedures and advanced drug-delivery technology over a lifetime of daily eye drops. It's built on a growing body of clinical research showing that lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) sooner and consistently is one of the most effective ways to slow the disease and preserve sight.

Why Drops Alone Aren’t Always the Answer

Prescription eye drops remain the standard first-line treatment for glaucoma, and for many patients, they work well. But drops also come with challenges that can make them difficult to rely on over a lifetime of treatment:

Adherence is Challenging: Some patients struggle to use their drops exactly as prescribed, whether due to busy schedules, complex dosing, forgetfulness, or difficulty getting the drop into the eye.

Side Effects Can Affect Quality of Life: Stinging, redness, dryness, blurred vision, and changes in the appearance of the eyes and eyelashes are all common.

Costs Add Up: Out-of-pocket prescription costs over many years, and sometimes decades, can be significant.

Missed Doses Have Consequences: When pressure isn't controlled consistently, the optic nerve continues to be damaged, often without any warning signs.

For patients who find drops inconvenient, ineffective, or hard to keep up with, interventional glaucoma offers another path to preserving vision.

Our Interventional Glaucoma Treatments

Advanced Options for Long-Term Pressure Control

At Scott & Christie Eyecare Associates, our doctors offer a full range of today's most advanced interventional glaucoma technologies. Most fall under the umbrella of Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS), which are procedures specifically designed to be safer, gentler, and faster to recover from than traditional glaucoma surgery, while still delivering meaningful pressure reduction.

Schedule an appointment

iStent

A microscopic stent, among the smallest medical devices ever implanted in the human body, that creates a permanent bypass through the eye's natural drainage system to help fluid flow more freely and lower eye pressure.

Hydrus Microstent

About the size of an eyelash, the Hydrus microstent is placed inside the eye's natural drainage canal to keep it open and flowing. It's been shown to lower IOP and reduce the need for glaucoma medications in many patients.

iDose TR

A tiny intraocular implant that releases glaucoma medication directly inside the eye, slowly and continuously, for an extended period. iDose can dramatically reduce, or even eliminate, the need for daily drops.

OMNI Surgical System

A single device that allows our surgeons to perform two complementary procedures through one small incision: opening the eye's primary drainage canal and improving outflow through the trabecular meshwork. OMNI offers a powerful, drop-reducing option for many patients with mild-to-moderate glaucoma.

AlloSpan

An advanced allograft-based procedure that helps restore the eye's natural ability to drain fluid, supporting more consistent pressure control with minimal disruption to the eye's structure.

AlloFlow

A minimally invasive option that uses allograft tissue to enhance fluid outflow and lower intraocular pressure, giving our surgeons another tool to tailor treatment to each patient's anatomy and stage of disease.

Who's a Good Candidate for Interventional Glaucoma?

Interventional glaucoma may be a good fit if you:

Have early to moderate glaucoma
Are struggling to keep up with daily eye drops
Experience side effects from your current medications
Want to reduce or potentially eliminate your dependence on drops
Are scheduled for cataract surgery and may benefit from a combined procedure
Want a more proactive approach to protecting your long-term vision

The best way to know whether interventional glaucoma is right for you is to schedule an evaluation with one of our doctors. After a comprehensive exam, we'll walk you through your options and recommend the path that best fits your eyes, your lifestyle, and your goals.

Schedule an Appointment

Meet Your Glaucoma Care Team

Our team of glaucoma-focused providers is here to evaluate, treat, and support you at every stage of your care.

Christopher M. Spearman, MD

Regis P. Rumpf, MD

Hamza M. Pasha, MD

Matthew Sommers, MD

FAQs

Traditional glaucoma care typically follows a step-by-step path, starting with daily eye drops and adding more as needed before considering surgery. Interventional glaucoma takes a more proactive approach by introducing minimally invasive procedures and advanced drug-delivery options earlier in the disease. The goal is to protect the optic nerve sooner, control eye pressure more consistently, and reduce the long-term treatment burden on patients.

It depends on the procedure and the individual patient. Many people are able to significantly reduce (or sometimes eliminate) their need for daily glaucoma drops after an interventional procedure. During your evaluation, your doctor will discuss what kind of drop reduction is realistic based on your specific condition, treatment plan, and stage of glaucoma.

Yes. Most interventional glaucoma procedures fall under the category of Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS), which is specifically designed to be safer and gentler than traditional glaucoma surgery. These procedures involve very small incisions, work with the eye’s natural drainage system, and typically allow for a quicker recovery with minimal disruption to daily life. As with any procedure, your doctor will walk you through the specific risks and benefits during your consultation.

Yes, and for many patients, that combination is one of the biggest advantages of this approach. Several of our interventional glaucoma treatments, including iStent, Hydrus, and OMNI, can be performed at the same time as cataract surgery, addressing both conditions in a single procedure. Your surgeon will determine whether a combined approach is right for you based on your overall eye health and treatment goals.

A Better Way to Manage Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a lifelong condition, but it doesn't have to define your daily life.

With interventional glaucoma, our team can take proactive steps to control your eye pressure earlier, protect more of your vision, and build a treatment plan that fits your lifestyle. Scott & Christie Eyecare Associates is proud to offer Western Pennsylvania a smarter, more modern approach to one of the most important eye conditions we treat.

Schedule an appointment