[Incidence of encapsulated bleb after filtering surgery]

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Glaucoma Surgery
• Surgical Complications

Background:

• Filtering surgery, such as trabeculectomy, is a common procedure for managing glaucoma.
• Encapsulated blebs (EB) are a known complication that can impact surgical outcomes.
• Identifying risk factors for EB is crucial for improving surgical success rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of encapsulated blebs (EB) following filtering surgery.
• To identify risk factors associated with EB development, particularly surgical factors.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 90 eyes undergoing trabeculectomy.
• Lens extraction was performed in 62.9% of cases.
• Follow-up duration of at least 3 months.

Main Results:

• Encapsulation occurred in 32.3% of eyes; EB with elevated IOP occurred in 15.7%.
• EB incidence was higher in men (20.5%) vs. women (11.8%) and in trabeculectomy alone (24.2%) vs. combined surgery (10.5%).
• Encapsulation was more frequent in primary open-angle glaucoma (40.7%) and significantly associated with increased surgical failure rates (21.4%).

Conclusions:

• Encapsulated blebs are more frequent in males and with thicker conjunctivas.
• Trabeculectomy alone is associated with higher EB rates than when combined with cataract surgery.
• EB represents a significant risk factor for short-term surgical failure after glaucoma surgery.