| Summary: | Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy characterized by progressive damage to the optic nerve that leads to visual impairment and potentially irreversible blindness. Glaucoma is sometimes called the "silent thief of sight" because its symptoms are often not apparent until irreversible damage to the optic nerve fibres has been done. It is estimated that glaucoma affects more than 400,000 Canadians, and the direct cost in Canada is estimated at $300 million per year. Risk factors for primary glaucoma, which occurs without a known cause, include elevated intraocular pressure (IOP; i.e., pressure inside the eyes), increasing age, a family history of glaucoma, race, and comorbidities including diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. Secondary glaucoma occurs when there is a known cause. The purpose of this Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is to address the policy questions through an assessment of the clinical effectiveness and safety, cost-effectiveness, patient perspectives and experiences, ethical issues, and implementation issues of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery devices and procedures for adults with glaucoma. An analytical framework can be found in Appendix 2
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