Journal of Current Glaucoma Practice

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VOLUME 9 , ISSUE 3 ( September-December, 2015 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Utility of Operative Glaucoma Tube Shunt Viscoelastic Bolus Flush

Kelsi L Greider

Keywords : Bleb fibrosis, Glaucoma surgery, Glaucoma tube shunt, Intraocular pressure, Modification/revision of glaucoma tube shunt, Ocular hypertension, Viscoelastic

Citation Information : Greider KL. Utility of Operative Glaucoma Tube Shunt Viscoelastic Bolus Flush. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2015; 9 (3):73-76.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10008-1188

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-08-2019

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2015; The Author(s).


Abstract

Objective: To assess the utility of viscoelastic injection to induce bleb expansion and decrease intraocular pressure (IOP) in eyes with encapsulated glaucoma tube shunt blebs. Design: Case series. Subjects and participants: Forty-three glaucomatous eyes, including 13 eyes with congenital, 13 uveitic, 5 neovascular, 5 open angle, 4 narrow angle and 3 traumatic glaucomas. Methods, interventions or testing: All patients underwent viscoelastic flush procedure. A pre-bent 27 or 30-gauge cannula was passed through a 25-gauge paracentesis, advanced over the iris across the anterior chamber, and insinuated into the tube shunt lumen. Once the cannula was firmly lodged in position, 0.45 to 0.85 ml of viscoelastic was injected to hyperinflate the bleb. Main outcome measures: Paired t-tests were performed comparing preoperative IOP and number of medications used preoperatively vs levels measured at 1, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. Results: Intraocular pressure was reduced from a mean preoperative level of 26.0 ± 1.2 (sem) mm Hg to 15.8 ± 1.0 at 1 month, remaining stable thereafter at each 6-month interval with 15.1 ± 1.1 mm Hg at 24 months (p < 0.0001). Medication use did not vary significantly from baseline. Pressure remained < 21 mm Hg after 2 years in 85% of eyes cannulated within 1 year of primary tube shunt implantation (n = 23), and in 62% of eyes cannulated more than 1 year after tube shunt placement (n = 20). Conclusion: Tube shunt expansion with bolus viscoelastic flush successfully restored encapsulated bleb function, providing a substantial (~10 mm Hg) IOP decrease into the mid-normal pressure range. This persisted in the majority of treated eyes for the entire study period.


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