Effect of immediate shallow anterior chamber after Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation on intermediate-term intraocular pressure control.

Abstract

To evaluate the incidence of shallow anterior chamber in the early postoperative period following Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation and its effect on the hypertensive phase (HP), intermediate-term intraocular pressure (IOP) control, and success rate. A retrospective analysis of 369 eyes of 360 patients who underwent AGV implantation between January 2005 and January 2020 with a minimum follow-up of 2 months was performed. Twenty-six patients developed shallow anterior chamber (AC) within 8 weeks following surgery (cases). They were compared with 39 randomly selected controls (no shallow AC post AGV). HP (IOP spike >21 mmHg), use of ocular hypotensive medications, and other associations were compared. Incidence of shallow AC post AGV was 7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4, 9). The onset of shallow AC was 3 ± 2.1 days and resolved within 6 ± 4.7 days. Hypotony (12 [47%] vs. 1 [2.5%], P 0.0001) and choroidal detachment (CD; 7 [27%] vs. 3 [8%], P 0.03) were more common in cases compared to controls. The HP occurred in 11 (43%) cases versus 13 (34%) controls (P 0.4). Cases required more ocular hypotensive medications than controls at the end of 8 weeks (1.1 ± 1 vs. 0.5 ± 0.5, P 0.01). There was no significant difference in the qualified success between the groups at 1 year. The development of postoperative shallow AC post AGV implantation was not detrimental to IOP control at 1 year. However, there is a need to monitor the occurrence of HP in these eyes.