Since medications and eye drops can cause undesirable side effects or simply fail to control glaucoma, and because patients frequently fail to take their medications, laser therapy may be a better alternative.
With traditional argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT), tiny, evenly spaced burns are made in the trabecular meshwork with an argon laser. These laser burns facilitate the drainage of aqueous humor. However, scarring of the trabecular meshwork occurs as a result of ALT burns, and may limit its success and the ability to retreat the eye in the future, should the procedure need to be repeated.