Glaucoma filtration surgery: new horizontal mattress closure of conjunctival incision

We developed a conjunctival wound closure technique with the idea of decreasing the incidence of wound leak following glaucoma filtration surgery. A micropoint 9-0 nylon vascular needle is used as a running mattress suture to close the limbal conjunctiva in routine fornix-based flap trabeculectomy surgery, trabeculectomy surgery with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and combined cataract and trabeculectomy surgery. In a series of 52 eyes in 52 patients in which we used this technique, there have been no cases of flat anterior chamber or significant choroidal effusion, complications often occurring secondary to trabeculectomy which require further intervention.