Triamcinolone acetonide does not improve success of silicone Ahmed valve

This prospective study found that intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) does not affect the intermediate-term success of the silicone Ahmed valve or reduce the incidence of complications in patients with neovascular glaucoma.

The authors randomized 43 patients with clinically uncontrolled neovascular glaucoma to silicone Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation with or without intravitreal TA. Success was defined as IOP < 22 mmHg and > 5 mmHg, with no serious complications.

At one-year postop, IOP was significantly lower in both groups, although the IOP spike in the first month after surgery was lower in the intravitreal TA group. The success rate at one year was 78 percent in that group and 76 percent in the group that did not receive intravitreal TA. Complication rates were similar between the groups, with hypotony the most common complication (26 percent).