Evaluation of EX-PRESS glaucoma implant in elderly diabetic patients after 23G vitrectomy

[Current views on pathogenesis and treatment of neovascular glaucoma]

Neovascular glaucoma is a type of secondary glaucoma characterized by the most severe course, and ranking second among the causes of irreversible blindness. This review summarizes the results of numerous studies devoted to the search for prevention measures and the most effective treatment strategy. The main ways of preventing the development of neovascular glaucoma are timely diagnosis and elimination of ischemic processes in the retina, combined with adequate control of intraocular pressure and treatment of the underlying disease.

Efficacy and safety of Ex-PRESS® mini shunt surgery versus trabeculectomy for neovascular glaucoma: a retrospective comparative study

Background

The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the short-term efficacy and safety of Ex-PRESS® mini shunt surgery and trabeculectomy for neovascular glaucoma (NVG).

Methods

Patients with NVG who underwent Ex-PRESS® mini shunt surgery or trabeculectomy as a primary glaucoma surgery between March 2013 and October 2015 were included in the study, and their medical charts were retrospectively reviewed. The Ex-PRESS® and trabeculectomy groups included 14 eyes and 30 eyes, respectively. Surgical failure was defined by an intraocular pressure (IOP) of ≥21 mmHg (condition A) or ≥ 18 mmHg (condition B); Kaplan–Meier survival analyses and the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess efficacies.

Results

Kaplan–Meier survival analyses indicated that the probabilities of success at 1 year for the Ex-PRESS® group were 25.7 and 31.8% based on complete and qualified success under condition A, respectively. The corresponding values for the trabeculectomy group were 47.8 and 69.3%, and there was a significant difference in qualified success with condition A (Fig. 1; P = 0.018), while there were no significant differences in the other criteria. Ex-PRESS® mini shunt surgery and higher intraocular pressure were independent prognostic factors using Cox proportional hazards model analyses in qualified success as in condition A (P = 0.012 and 0.0495, respectively). The occurrences of postsurgical hyphema and bleb leaks were significantly higher in the trabeculectomy group (P = 0.005 and 0.008, respectively).

Conclusion

During a 1 year follow-up, Ex-PRESS® mini shunt surgery was a less effective, but safer treatment for NVG compared with trabeculectomy.

Neovascular glaucoma: Handling in the future

Neovascular glaucoma (NVG), which is refractory to both medical management and surgical intervention, is a disastrous ocular disease for it always ends up with intolerable pain and extinguishing patients' residual visual function. Since insufficient acknowledge of the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms of NVG, it has been laying a challenging dilemma of managing NVG in clinical practice for a long time. Along with the progression on some new agents and surgical options targeting certain possible roles in the NVG process, there seems having been some new sights but still much unknown and to be revealed. This review discusses the underlying etiologic diseases of NVG, molecular findings and characteristics of its pathogenic process, as well as the management of NVG in detail. In addition, here represents some of our hypothesis regarding the interesting findings about NVG in clinical practice, aiming to provide some new enlightenment for future research.