Intermediate-term Clinical Experience with the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Implant

Purpose: We studied the intermediate-term clinical experience with the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implant (New World Medical, Inc, Rancho Cucamonga, California).

Methods: In this multicenter, retrospective case series, we studied 159 eyes (144 patients) treated with the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve with a mean +/- SEM (standard error of mean) follow-up of 13.4 +/- 0.7 months (range, 4 to 44 months). The mean +/- SEM age was 60.9 +/- 1.9 years (range, 0.1 to 103 years). Surgical success was defined as intraocular pressure less than 22 mm Hg and greater than 5 mm Hg without additional glaucoma surgery and without loss of light perception. Postoperative use of antiglaucoma medications was not a criterion for success or failure. The definition of hypotony was intraocular pressure of 5 mm Hg or less in two consecutive visits.

Results: Intraocular pressure was reduced from a mean of 32.7 +/- 0.8 mm Hg before surgery to 15.9 +/- 0.6 mm Hg (P < .0001) at the most recent follow-up after surgery. The number of antiglaucoma medications was decreased from 2.7 +/- 0.1 before surgery to 1.1 +/- 0.1 after surgery (P < .0001). The cumulative probability of success was 87% at 1 year and 75% at 2 years after surgery (Kaplan-Meier life-table analysis). Postoperatively, 24 (15%) of 159 eyes had intraocular pressure greater than or equal to 22 mm Hg. The visual acuity was improved or within one Snellen line in 131 eyes (82%). Complications occurred in 75 eyes (47%), the majority of which did not affect surgical outcome. The most common complication was obstruction of the tube, which was observed in 17 eyes (11%). Transient postoperative hypotony was found in 13 eyes (8%).

Conclusions: The Ahmed Glaucoma Valve implant is effective in lowering intraocular pressure, and postoperative hypotony is not commonly associated with this implant.