[Glaucoma surgeries: Long-term results - A review]. / Les principales chirurgies du glaucome : résultats à long terme ­ une revue de la littérature.

The surgical treatment of glaucoma has been and is still based on filtering surgeries, commonly used for about half a century. The safety and efficacy of these techniques have been well described, as it has also been done for cyclophotocoagulation and valves or tubes, indicated in France mostly for refractory glaucoma. Minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries have emerged in recent decades, increasing the number of therapeutic options, and allowing treatment decisions to be as patient-centered as possible. Most of these techniques have now been studied for more than five years. Since glaucoma is a chronic, progressive optic neuropathy, the sustainability of each surgery's results is essential. The amount of available data concerning long-term efficacy and safety of glaucoma surgeries is increasing, so we have decided to describe it through this review of the literature.

[Review by the French Glaucoma Society on the roles of new surgical techniques in glaucoma]. / Mise au point de la Société française du glaucome sur la place des nouvelles techniques chirurgicales dans le glaucome.

The surgical management of glaucoma has been enriched in recent years by the arrival of new surgical techniques as a group known as MIGS (minimally invasive glaucoma surgery). The objective of these new techniques is to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) while limiting the risk of complications of conventional filtering surgery and allowing faster visual recovery. MIGS can be classified into three main categories depending on the route used to promote the outflow of aqueous humor: the trabecular route, the suprachoroidal route and the subconjunctival route. MIGS using the subconjunctival route are also called minimally invasive bleb surgery (MIBS). These new techniques do not replace conventional filtering surgery, which remains the gold standard technique, but now offer new alternatives for the surgical management of glaucoma patients in combination with cataract surgery or as stand-alone procedures.

[XEN 45® gel stent implantation in glaucoma surgery: Dual-center comparative study between steroid-induced glaucoma and primary open angle glaucoma]. / Implantation du dispositif XEN 45® dans la chirurgie du glaucome : étude bicentrique bispective s'intéressant au glaucome cortisonique par rapport au glaucome primitif à angle ouvert.

INTRODUCTION: XEN 45® gel stent is an ab interno aqueous humor drainage device indicated for moderate glaucoma refractory to medical management. Its efficacy has been demonstrated in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). However, there are few studies on secondary glaucoma, including steroid-induced glaucoma (CG), defined as optic neuropathy induced by using local or systemic corticosteroids without increased flare. METHODS: We conducted a dual-center comparative cohort study between April 2019 and January 2021. 66 operated eyes were included, divided into two groups: POAG (56 eyes) and GC (10 eyes). The primary endpoint was the relative reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) at three months postoperatively in the GC group. Three outcomes were defined: total success, partial success and failure. RESULTS: The total success rate was 100% in the GC group and 42.6% in the POAG group. Preoperative IOP was 36.1±9.1mmHg and 19.0±7.3mmHg respectively. IOP reduction was 69.1±11.7% in the GC group and 21.8±30.3% in the POAG group. Patients were younger in the GC group (49.3±21.2 versus 71.1±8.4 years), and preoperative conjunctival preparation was longer in this group (12 versus 5 weeks). The needling rate was 17.9% in the POAG group and 10% in the GC group. CONCLUSION: The XEN 45® gel stent is effective in the treatment of steroid-induced glaucoma. Further studies will be required to identify predictive factors for success and to establish criteria for good candidacy.

[Late and sustained intraocular pressure elevation related to intravitreal anti-VEGF injections: Cases requiring filtering surgery (French translation of the article)]. / Hypertonie intraoculaire retardée liée aux injections intra-vitréennes répétées d'anti-VEGF : des cas nécessitant une chirurgie filtrante.

We report cases of delayed, sustained elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) associated with repeated intravitreal anti-VEGF injections (IVI), which ultimately resulted in the need for filtering surgery. Two of the three cases demonstrated severe IOP elevation despite maximal medical treatment following unilateral IVI and required urgent filtering surgery. Optic nerve involvement was severe in all three cases. These intravitreal injections were performed for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and the patients did not show any sign of glaucoma or ocular hypertension prior to the initiation of treatment. Elevated IOP secondary to intravitreal steroids is a well-known side effect, as is immediate transient IOP elevation associated with anti-VEGF injection. Late, sustained IOP elevation after repeated injections of anti-VEGF, described approximately ten years ago, is often underestimated. Its incidence is estimated between 2.1% and 13% according to studies and increases with the number of IVI (cumulative effect). The pathophysiologic process is becoming increasingly understood, and several risk factors for this chronic IOP elevation have been identified. Most often, it is a moderate IOP elevation for which topical monotherapy is sufficient, or sometimes two, three or four medications or even selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT). However, filtering surgery may rarely be required. Our findings illustrate a little-described phenomenon: a sudden, severe, late IOP elevation in response to anti-VEGF by an "overflow" effect, requiring urgent filtering surgery.

[Outpatient management without day 1 clinical follow-up of patients undergoing uncomplicated filtering surgery]. / Prise en charge ambulatoire sans contrôle clinique à j1 de patients opérés d'une chirurgie filtrante non compliquée en peropératoire.

INTRODUCTION: Although the general increase in ambulatory surgery allows for a 20% reduction in costs of hospitalization, the necessity of a day 1 postoperative visit remains the main problem for elderly patients or those who reside at considerable distance. For these reasons, in 2014, we decided to only see patients with uncomplicated filtering surgery at D5 and D21 and to replace the D1 visit with a telephone call. The primary goal of our study was to analyze a population of patients undergoing uncomplicated filtering surgery who were not seen at D1 and to describe the frequency of postoperative complications, intraocular pressure results and therapeutic management at D5 and D21. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective monocentric study in the department of ophthalmology. All patients (naïve of surgical treatment for glaucoma) underwent surgery for primary open-angle glaucoma in an ambulatory surgery unit between May 2014 and July 2016. A nurse made a phone call to the patients at day 1 and they responded to a standardized questionnaire. Depending upon their responses, the patients were seen quickly (<24hr) or on the systematic schedule at day 5 and day 21. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-four eyes (126 patients) were included in our study. The mean preoperative IOP was 20.4±6.4mmHg. After the phone call, only five patients were examined before the first planned follow-up at day 5. For 3 of them, the examination revealed the presence of a hyphema, and their topical medication was changed. The other two patients had no treatment modifications. At day 5, the mean IOP was 10.6±5.9mmHg. Thirty-two eyes (22.2%) required a change in their medication at day 5. The mean IOP at day 21 was 12.9±4.6mmHg. Our success rate (IOP<21mmHg with no topical medication) at day 21 was 95.6%. DISCUSSION: The guidelines for filtering glaucoma surgery recommend examining the patient at day 1 (or at least before day 3), day 8, day 15 and day 30 or more frequently according to the case. We replaced the day 1 visit with a telephone call. We did not note a substantial rate of complications due to the elimination of the D1 visit. The criteria of success of filtering glaucoma surgery vary in the literature, but our success rate at D21 seems to be similar that in the literature and may suggest that the day 1 visit is not necessary if the surgery for primary open angle glaucoma is uncomplicated.

[One-year results on the safety and efficacy of the InnFocus MicroShunt™ depending on placement and concentration of mitomycin C]. / Résultats à un an de l'efficacité et de l'innocuité du MicroShunt InnFocus selon l'emplacement et la concentration de MMC.

PURPOSE: To compare intraocular pressure (IOP) at one year with the InnFocus MicroShunt(®) with or without cataract surgery with according to placement and concentration of mitomycin C (MMC) DESIGN: A retrospective two-center, two-surgeon study (France and Dominican Republic). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Adults with POAG requiring filtering surgery. One MicroShunt(®) was placed in one eye of each patient. The effect of concentration and site of application of MMC was assessed by IOP and medication reduction at one year. RESULTS: Eighty-seven eyes were studied with one-year follow-up. Twenty-three eyes treated with 0.4 mg/mL MMC close to the limbus demonstrated a 55% reduction in IOP from 23.8 ± 5.3 at baseline to 10.7 ± 2.8 mmHg at one year. Topical glaucoma medication/patient was reduced 85% from 2.4 ± 0.9 to 0.3 ± 0.8. Thirty-one eyes treated with 0.2mg/mL MMC close to the limbus demonstrated a 52% reduction in IOP from 27.9 ± 6.7 at baseline to 13.3 ± 3.3 mmHg at one year. Topical glaucoma medication/patient was reduced 88% from 2.5 ± 1.4 to 0.5 ± 1.0. Thirty-three eyes treated with 0.4 mg/mL MMC deep in the pocket demonstrated a 38% reduction in IOP from 25.4 ± 7.9 at baseline to 15.7 ± 4.6 mmHg at one year. Topical glaucoma medication/patient was reduced 72% from 2.9 ± 1.0 to 0.8 ± 1.3. There were no sight-threatening long-term adverse events. CONCLUSION: The InnFocus MicroShunt(®) is a filtering surgery whose efficacy is related to the location of application and concentration of MMC used.

[Anti-VEGF therapy in the treatment of anterior segment neovascularization secondary to central retinal vein occlusion]. / Apport des anti-VEGF dans le traitement de la néovascularisation du segment antérieur compliquant les occlusions veineuses rétiniennes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the benefit of anti-VEGF in the treatment of anterior segment neovascularization (ASNV), a severe complication of ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective case series of consecutive patients with ASNV secondary to CRVO treated with anti-VEGF. Ophthalmic parameters were recorded for each visit: measurement of best visual acuity (VA), intraocular pressure (IOP), iris examination, gonioscopy and fundus examination, and as necessary, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography. Minimum follow-up was 6 months. RESULTS: Nineteen patients (19 eyes) received intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF in association with panretinal photocoagulation (PRP). In patients who had uncomplicated rubeosis iridis without elevated IOP (n=6), after a mean of 3 injections, VA was stable in 4 patients and improved by two lines in 2 patients. In patients with early neovascular glaucoma (NVG) (n=13), IOP reduction was observed in all eyes within 1 week after injection but increased secondarily after an average of 45 days, although the rubeosis had definitively disappeared, which suggested that the change in IOP was independent of ASNV. After a mean of 6 injections in combination with filtering or cyclodestructive surgery, IOP finally stabilized, but VA decreased in all patients. Three patients (50%) with stage III ASNV progressed to stage IV ASNV in spite of anti-VEGF treatment. CONCLUSION: In all eyes, anti-VEGF treatment stopped neovascularization and helped to control IOP. However, vision was preserved only in the eyes with uncomplicated rubeosis at the time of diagnosis. Since only 32% of eyes were diagnosed at this stage, the authors suggest the prevention of ASNV by careful screening and follow-up of patients at risk, and the performance of PRP in CRVO with extensive retinal non-perfusion prior to the onset of rubeosis.

[Evaluation of preoperative anxiety in patients requiring glaucoma filtration surgery]. / Évaluation de l'anxiété préopératoire chez les patients nécessitant une chirurgie filtrante du glaucome.

PURPOSE: Preoperative anxiety is often expressed by patients requiring filtration surgery for their glaucoma. So far, there has been no scale for screening this group of patients for preoperative anxiety. The Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) is a self-evaluation questionnaire which has been used in specialties other than ophthalmology and which makes it possible to identify the adult patients with a high level of preoperative anxiety over an upcoming surgical procedure. The purpose of this study is to estimate the preoperative anxiety in glaucoma patients requiring filtration surgery. METHODS: We performed a prospective study of 36 adult patients with chronic glaucoma not responding to medical treatment and who were about to undergo filtration surgery (trabeculectomy or deep sclerectomy). The APAIS questionnaire was given to the patients after discussing the indication for surgery. A global anxiety score (ranging from 4 to 20) above 10 defined patients with a high level of preoperative anxiety. We attempted to identify among these patients the factors related to filtration surgery which caused them anxiety (lack of control of intraocular pressure, risk of blindness, presence of the filtering bleb). RESULTS: In our sample of patients, we found that glaucoma was a source of anxiety. That was also true for the surgical procedure, though most patients believe that once the decision had been made, their psychological status was not modified by the upcoming procedure. DISCUSSION: The patient-clinician relationship is important in any chronic disease, all the more so in glaucoma, since this disease remains asymptomatic for a long time. When filtration surgery is necessary, the patients are going to express less preoperative anxiety if they trust their physician and if individualized information has been given to them CONCLUSION: The French version of the APAIS is a quick scale, easily completed, that can be recommended for evaluating anxiety and patients' need for information prior to filtering surgery. It is usually easier for the surgeon to find ways to reduce the patient's anxiety if a relationship of trust has been established between the two.