Tentative surgical repair of leaking filtering bleb with amniotic membrane transplantation--a case report

To repair a traumatic leaking cystic bleb in a 50-year-old male patient who had received multiple glaucoma filtering surgeries with the application of mitomycin-C, an amniotic membrane covered over the leaking bleb and sutured it to the adjacent conjunctiva with 10-0 nylon was done. The anterior chamber gradually formed after the amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) and intraocular pressure returned to the level before trauma. Three weeks after the operation, the amniotic membrane was removed. No more leakage from the bleb was observed during four months follow-up. However, another bleb revision surgery was performed later to repair recurrent bleb leakage. Although conjunctival advancement or free conjunctival autograft have been reported to repair leaking bleb successfully, the simple primary method of using AMT is still encouraged in repair of a ruptured bleb with tentative maintenance of adequate filtration.