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Updated: Aug 28, 2025
Assessing Early Stage Open-Angle Glaucoma in Patients by Isolated-Check Visual Evoked Potential
Published on: May 25, 2020
Early evaluation of optic nerve head morphology and choroidal thickness after PreserFlo MicroShunt implantation
Gloria Gambini1,2, Matteo Mario Carlà3,4, Tomaso Caporossi1,2
1Ophthalmology Department, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, IRCCS", Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy.
Purpose:
The aim of this study is to investigate changes in choroidal and optic nerve morphological parameters following MicroShunt PreserFlo implantation. The secondary aim is to investigate how the structural changes relate to the decrease in intraocular pressure (IOP).
Methods:
Prospective observational study on 15 eyes with glaucoma requiring MicroShunt implantation. Optical coherence tomography was used to measure macular choroidal thickness (MCT), peripapillary choroidal thickness (PCT), lamina cribrosa depth (LCD), cup depth and prelaminar tissue thickness (PLT), before and one day after surgery. Results were expressed in median and interquartile range (IQR) and correlated with IOP results.
Results:
The IOP decreased from a median of 25 (IQR = 11) mmHg to 8 (IQR = 2) mmHg the day after surgery. Median MCT increased after MicroShunt implantation from 252.1 (IQR = 156.4) µm to a postoperative value of 318.1 (IQR = 166.6) µm (p < 0.001), with a median increase of + 87.7 µm (+ 26.4%). PCT increased from 157.2 (IQR = 109.1) µm before surgery to 206.0 (IQR = 136.1) µm after surgery (p < 0.001). Moreover, we found a significant post-operative decrease in cup depth (median reduction of - 29.3 µm, p < 0.001) and an increase in PLT (median increase of 27.3 µm, p = 0.028). On the other side, LCD reduction 24 h after surgery didn't reach any statistical significance.
Conclusion:
PreserFlo implantation determines retinal structural changes which appear similar to those caused by traditional filtering surgery, confirming the effectiveness of this device, meantime carrying a much smaller complications rate when compared to trabeculectomy.
