JAN 24, 2024
Revolutionizing Glaucoma Management: A Novel Integration of PreserFlo and Baerveldt Tube for Improved Patient Outcomes
AAO 2023 Video Program
Glaucoma, Surgical Management
Baerveldt tube (BVT) has a large plate that ensures long-term success but has numerous drawbacks: (1) The lack of a flow-controlled mechanism requires an intraluminal stent or external ligation suture to prevent hypotony, which means that IOP can be very high in the early postoperative phase. (2) Mitomycin C (MMC) has not been used routinely with BVT, partly because of the risk of late hypotony once the ligation suture has dissolved. (3) The implantation of a large-diameter tube in the anterior chamber puts the corneal endothelium at risk over time. We report a novel surgical technique: attaching a BVT plate to a PreserFlo tube, the distal segment of which is inserted into the anterior chamber, after subconjunctival MMC (0.4 mg/mL for 5 minutes). This is done either as a primary procedure or as a secondary procedure after PreserFlo fails.