Abstract
Relevance. One of the conditions for the functional outflow pathways' formation after filtering glaucoma surgeries is the uniform moisture absorption from the filtering blebs, which is provided by the blood and, possibly, lymphatic vessels of the conjunctiva. Purpose. To conduct a structural and molecular assessment of filtering blebs in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) after non-penetrating deep sclerectomy (NPDS) according to OCT data, as well as ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies. Material and methods. A clinical study of 12 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) after NPDS was conducted. In the long-term postoperative period (12–18 months), the level of intraocular pressure (IOP) was determined, the structure of the filtering blebs using biomicroscopy and OCT of the anterior segment of the eye was evaluated, the immunohistochemical study of the filtering blebs' tissue for the expression of podoplanin and ultrastructural analysis of the samples obtained using a laser confocal microscope LSM 710 (Zeiss) was performed. In 8 cases (group 1), these were non-functional scarred filtering blebs, IOP 24.12± 2.24 mm Hg, in 4 cases (group 2) – functional filtering blebs, IOP 15.31± 4.08 mm Hg. Results. During the immunohistochemical examination of the first group patients' conjunctival samples, no vessels with characteristics of the lymphatic system were detected in any case. In each sample of the second group patients' filtering blebs, from 5 to 7 vessels with different variants of podoplanin expression were determined. Conclusion. The aqueous outflow entering the subconjunctival space through the newly created outflow pathway during glaucoma surgery is carried out at the expense of conjunctival lymphatic structures, the condition of which to a certain extent determines the success or failure of the surgery. Key words: non-penetrating deep sclerectomy; open-angle glaucoma; lymphatic outflow; filtering blebs
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