ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic factors affecting surgical outcomes, including visual acuity (VA) improvement, after glaucoma surgery in patients with neovascular glaucoma (NVG). Methods: The medical records of 116 patients (116 eyes) with NVG who had undergone trabeculectomy or Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation were reviewed retrospectively. The primary outcome measure was surgical success at 6 postoperative months, defined as sufficient intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction (IOP ≤21 mmHg, ≥20% reduction, regardless of topical medication use) without additional glaucoma surgery, hypotony, or progression to no light perception. Success was categorized as complete or qualified based on whether an improvement in VA was observed in addition to the abovementioned definition. Results: The complete and qualified success rates at 6 months were 44.6% and 92.2%, respectively. Age (p = 0.001), preoperative best-corrected VA (p = 0.031), duration of decreased VA (p = 0.001), closed-angle status (p = 0.013), and etiology (p = 0.007) differed significantly between the groups with and without complete success. Multivariate analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] 1.05; p = 0.026), duration of decreased VA (OR 1.05; p = 0.016), and 360° closed-angle status (OR 3.27; p = 0.031) were risk factors for surgical failure according to the complete success criteria, but not the qualified success criteria. Conclusions: Patients with NVG showed improved visual prognosis and successful IOP reduction after glaucoma surgery at a relatively younger age if the duration of visual loss was not prolonged and the angle status was not completely closed.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To compare the effects of guided and non-guided Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation on the corneal endothelium. METHODS: Medical records of patients who underwent AGV implantation in the anterior chamber (AC) were reviewed retrospectively. The eyes were divided into two groups depending on the use of a guidance technique with spatula and a 4-0 nylon intraluminal stent. Specular microscopy was performed to measure corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) loss after surgery, and the rate of ECD change was calculated. Tube parameters were measured using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). RESULTS: The ECD loss during 2 years of follow-up was significantly lower in the guided AGV implantation (gAGV) group than in the non-guided implantation (ngAGV) group, and the rate of ECD change was -0.62 ± 1.23 and -1.42 ± 1.57%/month in the gAGV and ngAGV groups, respectively (p = 0.003). The mean tube-cornea distance (TCD) and mean tube-cornea angle (TCA) were significantly greater in the gAGV group than in the ngAGV group. The frequency of tube repositioning within 2 years after surgery was 0% in the gAGV group and 12.66% in the ngAGV group (p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The use of a guidance technique can reduce corneal endothelial loss during the first 2 years after AGV implantation in the AC. The tube was positioned at a more distant and wider angle from the cornea in the eyes of the gAGV group, which may have contributed to the reduced need for tube repositioning to prevent corneal decompensation.
