Clinical outcomes of Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation in primary open-angle glaucoma and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma

Purpose To investigate the clinical outcomes of Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG). Methods The patients who underwent AGV implantation for POAG and PEXG between January 2015 and December 2021 in a single tertiary center eye clinic were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-one eyes with the diagnosis of POAG constituted Group 1 and 40 eyes with the diagnosis of PEXG constituted Group 2. The primary outcome measures were intraocular pressure (IOP) changes after AGV implantation and surgical success at the last visit. We evaluated complete and qualified surgical success using the following three criteria: (1) IOP <= 21mmH g, (2) IOP <= 18 mmHg, and (3) IOP <= 15 mmHg, as well as the absence of any serious complications, such as light perception loss and phthisis bulbi, and additional de novo glaucoma surgery. Results The mean follow-up times were 25.2 (+/- 21.4) months and 27.6 (+/- 19.8) months for Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p > 0.05). In Groups 1 and 2, the mean preoperative IOPs were 31.9 +/- 9.4 mmHg and 32.3 +/- 8.4 mmHg, respectively, which significantly reduced to 14.5 +/- 0.7 mmHg and 11.6 +/- 0.6 mmHg, respectively at the last postoperative visit (p < 0.001 for both). The mean IOP value at the last visit was statistically significantly lower in Group 2 (p = 0.006). At the last visit, the number of eyes with qualified success according to criteria 1, 2, and 3 was 26 (83.9%), 25 (80.6%), and 18 (58.1%), respectively, in Group 1 and 39 (97.5%), 39 (97.5%), and 32 (80%), respectively, in Group 2. The comparison of the qualified success rates showed statistically significantly higher rates in Group 2 for criterion 2 (p = 0.038). Conclusion AGV implantation had high success rates in both POAG and PEXG, but at the final visit, lower IOP levels were reached in the latter.