Improvised 3-0 polypropylene plug for the glaucoma drainage tube during phacoemulsification

Overfiltration through a preexisting glaucoma drainage tube can make subsequent phacoemulsification surgery more challenging due to a dangerously shallow anterior chamber. The author improvised a 3-0 polypropylene plug to occlude the implant tube during phacoemulsification in two patients with uveitic glaucoma and a prior Baerveldt glaucoma drainage device. The improvised plug safely and effectively maintained the anterior chamber during phacoemulsification. A 3-0 polypropylene suture can be tied, trimmed, and inserted into a glaucoma drainage implant tube, in select cases, to maintain the anterior chamber during cataract surgery.