Five Years Outcome of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Surgery in Refectory Glaucoma

The aim of this study was to evaluate the success rate and complications of Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV) insertion during a follow up of at least 5 years.

In this retrospective case series study, patients with 5 years of follow up after AGV insertion were enrolled. Success was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) Findings: This study included 40 eyes of 40 patients with mean age of 40.63± 22.91years, (range 1 to 88). Cumulative survival success rates were 90%, 73% at 1 and 5 years after surgery according to criterion A and 42%, 25% based on criterion B with the median survival time of 60 months and 22.36 months, respectively. Complications were observed in 4 eyes of 4 patients (10%) and included wound dehiscence, choroidal detachment, encapsulated bleb and lid retraction. There were not any early complications such as hypotonia or hyphema.

The present study was one of the largest series that reported the long-term outcome of AGV implantation in Asian patients with refractory glaucoma, and showed the wide difference of success rate between criterion A and B.