Tube shunt complications and their prevention

Glaucoma drainage devices (GDDs) have been generally accepted as a treatment of refractory glaucoma. GDDs have their own unique set of complications that are important to evaluate to prevent them.

Tube shunts are typically used in eyes with refractory glaucoma. There is increased interest in studying the efficacy of GDDs. Most of the attention has been focused on comparing trabeculectomy with the Baerveldt implant (Advanced Medical Optics, Inc., Santa Anna, California, USA). The other leading implant is the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve. There are several retrospective studies comparing these two devices and a prospective study is ongoing. There is great interest in the complication rate of tube shunts and these have been published both retrospectively and prospectively. Complications such as hypotony, diplopia, strabismus, proptosis, tube erosion, failure, corneal decompensation, endophthalmitis, and visual loss are all important and some have recently been reviewed in the literature. Moreover, the use of glaucoma drainage implants in the pediatric population has been evaluated.

Glaucoma drainage implants have been a powerful tool in our surgical fight to prevent blindness; however, they are not without complications or controversy.