Outcomes of Ahmed Glaucoma Drainage Implant in Eyes With Glaucoma Secondary to Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome.

AIM

To evaluate the success of Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation in patients with glaucoma secondary to iridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 18 eyes of 18 patients with ICE syndrome and glaucoma who had undergone AGV implantation at our institute between January 2008 and April 2019. The primary outcome was the success of AGV, defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) ≥6 and ≤21 mm Hg with or without topical antiglaucoma medication (AGM). Failure was defined as IOP <6 or >21 mm Hg/need for oral AGM/need for additional glaucoma surgery or loss of light perception because of a surgical complication. Corneal clarity and graft survival in these eyes post-AGV were the secondary outcome measure.

RESULTS

The median (interquartile range) follow-up was at 20.61 (3.9 to 57) months. Of the 18 eyes, 14 (77.8%) had adequate IOP control with or without AGMs. Postoperatively, the mean (±standard deviation) IOP significantly reduced from 29.7(±10) mm Hg to 16(±3.8) mm Hg and the number of AGMs reduced significantly from a mean of 3.6 (±1) to 1.7 (±0.9). The probability of AGV success was 92.3±7.4%, 66.1±11.0%, and 50.5%±17.3% at 1, 3, and 4 years, respectively. All 4 failures were because of uncontrolled IOP and needed either oral AGM or additional surgery for IOP control. At the last follow-up visit, 16 eyes had clear cornea and 2 eyes had pre-existing corneal scar (eccentric) that persisted after AGV implantation.

CONCLUSION

AGV implant was reasonably successful for IOP control in glaucoma secondary to ICE syndrome with a few common but manageable corneal complications.