National survey of intraoperative mitomycin C use during trabeculectomy surgery in the UK

Mitomycin C is a routinely used antimetabolite which effectively limits the scarring process. Conventionally, the intra-operative technique of MMC delivery during trabeculectomy is the direct application of the soaked sponges. The aim of this study is to evaluate the current practice of delivering MMC during trabeculectomy and to see the practices related to a retained MMC swab during trabeculectomy in the UK.

An electronic questionnaire of 8 questions regarding the intraoperative use of MMC during trabeculectomy surgery was emailed to 69 ophthalmologist members of the UK and Eire glaucoma society (UKEGS) through email in July 2019.

97.2% of the surveyed glaucoma surgeons said they use MMC during trabeculectomy routinely, while 2.9% said they never use MMC for trabeculectomy. In reply to a question 'Have you ever had a retained MMC-soaked sponge/fragment of sponge', 11.76% replied 'yes', 88.24% said 'No'. In response to what technique was employed at the time of retained MMC sponges, all the respondents said they had employed the same technique of 'multiple individual sponges'. 47.1% surgeons said they use multiple individual sponges on being asked what technique they currently employ for delivering MMC during trabeculectomy surgery, while 14.7% surgeons use multiple sponges linked with a 'necklace suture' and 5.9% inject MMC.

Our survey suggests the intra-operative MMC use in the UK is high and that unintentional MMC-soaked swab retention does occur, albeit rarely. A preference of using the MMC-soaked swabs as a delivery method of MMC is seen in our survey.