Ahmed Glaucoma Valve in Refractory Glaucoma: A Retrospective Study

摘要

Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV) is a modality to surgically manage patients of glaucoma who are refractory to conventional intraocular pressure lowering drugs.Aim: To evaluate the success rate and safety profile of AVG in patients of refractory glaucoma.Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective review of 30 eyes with refractory glaucoma that were implanted AGV over a period from January 2012 to November 2014. The collected data was analysed using SPSS Version 21.0, ANOVA and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to evaluate surgical success and rate of complications.Results: The AGV reduced the preoperative mean Intraocular Pressure (IOP) of 33.47±6.19 mmHg to 12.36±3.55 mmHg at last follow up after surgery (p-value=0.001). The dependency on anti-glaucoma drugs decreased from 2.43±1.1 to 1.1±0.5 at the last follow up visit (p-value=0.65). AGV implantation was successful in 90% eyes at 12 months (n=30), 86.7% at 24 months (n=26) and 70% eyes at 36 months (n=21). Complications requiring intervention were found in seven (23.33%) eyes.Conclusion: Ahmed Glaucoma Valve is a reliable and safe alternative for IOP control in patients with refractory glaucoma.