Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the outcomes of Ahmed valve implantation in neovascular glaucoma patients who received intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) and postoperative 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) after 24 months of followup.
Methods
A total of 40 eyes from 40 patients with neovascular glaucoma who received antiglaucomatous medication without previous glaucoma surgery were included in the present study. The patients were divided into 2 groups. The control group (20 eyes) underwent Ahmed valve implantation only and the study group (20 eyes) underwent Ahmed valve implantation and received intraoperative MMC and postoperative 5-FU. Failure was defined as the first occurrence of any of the following: 1) the first of 3 consecutive visits where intraocular pressure (IOP) was over 18 mmHg; 2) 20% IOP reduction from baseline; 3) the final number of topical medications was not reduced by at least two from baseline; 4) the need for additional surgery; or 5) the occurrence of a serious complication.
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Figure 1.
Intraocular pressure (IOP) following Ahmed valve implantation only (control group) and Ahmed valve implantation with adjunctive intraoperative mitomycin C and postoperative 5-fluorouracil (study group). D = day; W = week; M = month.

Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier estimates of the cumulative probability of valve success for Ahmed valve implanted eyes. Control group (20 eyes) received Ahmed valve implantation only. Study group (20 eyes) received Ahmed valve implantation and intraoperative MMC and postoperative 5-FU. Failure was defined as the first occurrence following an initial postoperative period of any of the following events: 1) IOP > 18 mm Hg for three consecutive visits or <20% IOP reduction from baseline and the final number of topical medications needed to be not less than at least 2 from baseline, 2) need for additional surgery to repair a malfunctioning Ahmed valve, or 3) serious postoperative complications.

Table 1.
Baseline characteristics for Ahmed valve-implanted eyes
Control group (n = 20) | Study group (n = 20) | p-value∗ | |
---|---|---|---|
Age (yr) | 57.80 ± 7.68 | 51.90 ± 10.40 | 0.08 |
Sex | 0.821 | ||
Male | 10 (50.0) | 11 (55.0) | |
Female | 10 (50.0) | 9 (45.0) | |
Diagnosis | 0.598 | ||
NVG with DMR | 17 (85) | 18 (90) | |
NVG with CRVO | 1 (5) | 0 (0) | |
NVG with OIS | 2 (10) | 2 (10) | |
Lens status | 0.946 | ||
Aphakic | 2 (10.0) | 2 (10.0) | |
Phakic | 8 (40.0) | 9 (45.0) | |
Pseudophakic | 10 (50.0) | 9 (45.0) | |
Preoperative IOP (mm Hg) | 38.50 ± 5.31 | 39.10 ± 5.88 | 0.731 |
No. of preoperative-medication | 3.05 ± 0.60 | 2.85 ± 0.81 | 0.428 |
MMC time (min) | 0 | 4.72 ± 0.55 | |
No. of 5-FU injections | 0 | 3.27 ± 0.45 | |
Follow up period (mon) | 26.8 ± 4.72 | 28.2 ± 5.22 | 0.94 |
Table 2.
Postoperative intraocular pressure for Ahmed valve implanted eyes during the followup period
Time | IOP of control group (mm Hg) | IOP of study group (mm Hg) | p-value∗ |
---|---|---|---|
Baseline | 38.50 ± 5.31 | 39.10 ± 5.88 | 0.731 |
1 day | 13.70 ± 2.47 | 12.85 ± 2.87 | 0.281 |
1 wk | 13.35 ± 1.39 | 13.50 ± 3.10 | 0.821 |
1 mon | 14.65 ± 1.42 | 13.65 ± 2.01 | 0.116 |
3 mon | 15.30 ± 1.75 | 14.35 ± 2.21 | 0.198 |
6 mon | 16.60 ± 2.58 | 15.15 ± 3.90 | 0.200 |
9 mon | 18.55 ± 3.03 | 15.30 ± 5.11 | 0.047 |
12 mon | 18.90 ± 3.86 | 14.20 ± 5.75 | 0.011 |
18 mon | 19.55 ± 3.90 | 14.75 ± 5.18 | 0.005 |
24 mon | 19.95 ± 3.93 | 14.80 ± 4.76 | 0.002 |
Table 3.
Kaplan-Meier estimates of probability of success in Ahmed valve implanted eyes
Table 4.
Postoperative characteristics of control and study group
Control group | Study group | p-value∗ | |
---|---|---|---|
Hypertensive phase: | |||
Yes | 7.00 (35) | 4.00 (20) | 0.048 |
Postoperative no. of medications at 24 months | 1.40 ± 0.94 | 0.55 ± 0.69 | 0.022 |
Change in no. of medication from baseline | ‐1.65 ± 0.81 | ‐2.30 ± 0.92 | 0.049 |
Medications relative to baseline | |||
Lower no. of medications | 15 (75) | 18 (90) | 0.081 |
Same no. of medications | 5 (25) | 2 (10) | 0.068 |
Greater no. of medications | 0 | 0 |
Table 5.
Postoperative complications
Control group | Study group | p-value∗ | |
---|---|---|---|
Transient hypotony | 2 (10) | 5 (25) | 0.032 |
Transient hyphema | 3 (15) | 2 (10) | 0.245 |
Retration of tube from anterior chamber | 2 (10) | 1 (5) | 0.435 |