Combined Baerveldt glaucoma implant and scleral buckling surgery for patients with retinal detachment and coexisting...

To report on the usefulness of combined Baerveldt glaucoma implantation (BGI) and scleral buckling surgery for patients with glaucoma requiring a scleral buckle for retinal detachment repair.

Retrospective, consecutive, noncomparative, and interventional case series of 30 eyes (30 patients) that underwent simultaneous scleral buckle and BGI surgery, using a staged (group 1, n=21 patients) or nonstaged (group 2, n=9 patients) approach to BGI implantation. Successful intraocular pressure (IOP) control was defined as 6 mm Hg≤IOP≤18 mm Hg.

Although not statistically significant, mean best corrected visual acuity (LogMAR) improved from 2.0 before surgery to 1.7 after surgery (P=0.13) with a mean follow-up of 27.7 months. Of the 21 patients in group 1, only 13 (62%) required second-stage tube insertion at a mean of 7.0±8.0 months (range, 1 to 24 mo) postoperatively. For these eyes combined with group 2 eyes, mean IOP was reduced from 31.1±10.8 to 12.7±6.0 mm Hg (P<0.0001), and the mean number of glaucoma medications was reduced from 2.9±1.4 to 1.2±1.3 (P<0.001). Life table rates of successful IOP control were 90% and 80% at 12 and 24 months, respectively.

Combined scleral buckle and BGI is an effective technique for managing coexisting glaucoma and retinal detachment and provides the clinician with a useful surgical option while minimizing surgical risk.