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. 2025 Aug;14(8):2061-2069.
doi: 10.1007/s40123-025-01189-w. Epub 2025 Jun 22.

The Efficacy and Safety of Trabeculectomy after Failed Primary Glaucoma Drainage Devices

Daniel Wang  1 , Zhuangjun Si  2 , Sanjay G Asrani  3 , Joanne C Wen  3 , Divakar Gupta  3
Affiliations

The Efficacy and Safety of Trabeculectomy after Failed Primary Glaucoma Drainage Devices

Daniel Wang et al. Ophthalmol Ther. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Trabeculectomy is not usually considered for uncontrolled intraocular pressure (IOP) after glaucoma drainage devices (GDD) because of concern that the conjunctiva has been violated and future trabeculectomy surgery is likely to fail due to fibrosis. We examined the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent a trabeculectomy after failed primary GDD.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of all patients who had a glaucoma drainage implant that failed or was inadequate in lowering IOP and underwent a trabeculectomy in the same eye from January 2016 to December 2022.

Results: A total of 23 eyes in 22 patients met our criteria. Average IOP [± standard deviation (SD)] prior to trabeculectomy was 21.7 ± 9.3 on 3.2 ± 1.3 medications. The length of follow-up was between 0.3 and 5.0 years with an average follow-up time of 2.2 years. At 1 year (n = 16), IOP was 11 ± 1.9 mm Hg on 1.8 ± 1.5 medications. At 2 years, the average IOP was 11.8 ± 4.6 on 1.9 ± 1.4 medications. At all follow-up points, the decrease in IOP and medication was statistically significant compared with baseline (paired t-tests; p < 0.05). Most postoperative complications self-resolved with medical management (three early wound leaks, two late wound leaks, two instances of hypotony maculopathy, and one instance of cystoid macular edema). One early wound leak required surgical repair. One eye underwent an additional GDD surgery, and three eyes underwent bleb needling. In all, 20 (87%) eyes at final visit were within two lines of their baseline vision prior to trabeculectomy. No eyes progressed to having no light perception visual acuity or had an ocular infection.

Conclusions: This study suggests that trabeculectomy after a GDD is an effective and safe option for IOP control and glaucoma medication reduction. In this small sample of surgical cases, complication and reoperation rates were comparable to published rates.

Keywords: Clinical outcomes; Glaucoma drainage device; Intraocular pressure; Secondary glaucoma surgery; Trabeculectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: Daniel Wang, Zhuangjun Si, Joanne C. Wen, and Divakar Gupta declare that they have no competing interests. Sanjay G. Asrani is a Section Editor of Ophthalmology and Therapy. Sanjay G. Asrani was not involved in the selection of peer reviewers for the manuscript nor any of the subsequent editorial decisions. Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Duke Health (Pro00112245) and followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The requirement of informed consent was waived, as this study was retrospective. Patients were not involved in the study trial design or dissemination of results.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Bar graph illustrates the average intraocular pressure (IOP) at each time period with a 95% confidence interval. The change in IOP after trabeculectomy from baseline was statistically significant at all time points (paired t-test; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.005)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bar graph illustrates the average number of glaucoma medications at each time period with a 95% confidence interval. The change in glaucoma medications after trabeculectomy from baseline was statistically significant at all time points (paired t-test; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.005)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
This line graph illustrates the proportion of patients meeting criteria A, B, and C as defined in Table 1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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