Is minimally invasive glaucoma surgery killing trabeculectomies?

The introduction of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) has changed the surgical landscape of glaucoma surgery. For more than four decades, the most commonly performed glaucoma surgery around the world has been the trabeculectomy. This article examines whether trabeculectomy is still the predominant procedure in glaucoma today, in the context of rapidly emerging MIGS devices and procedures.

There is a growing trend of mild to moderate glaucoma cases undergoing MIGS procedures instead of trabeculectomy. Glaucoma drainage device implantation may also have taken away a significant share of the filtering surgery performed for more severe glaucoma. In addition, the availability and economics of implants has an influence on the prevalence of trabeculectomy.

Currently, trabeculectomy surgery is still the most common glaucoma surgery performed around the world. However, the proportion of glaucoma surgeries undergoing MIGS is increasing rapidly.