Intraoperative management of nonfunctioning Ahmed glaucoma valve implant.

A 62-year-old woman with neovascular glaucoma underwent filtering surgery with the Ahmed glaucoma valve (New World Medical, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga, CA). Intraoperative hypotony secondary to a defective valve was noted and managed by excising the valve mechanism. The implant was then treated as if it was non-valved by placement of an obturator suture. The postoperative course was unremarkable for a non-valved implant. This case demonstrates how intraoperative hypotony secondary to overfiltration of an Ahmed glaucoma valve implant can be successfully managed by converting to a non-valved implant.