Trabeculectomy with the use of amniotic membrane for uncontrollable glaucoma

Abstract

Although trabeculectomy is an established surgical technique for glaucoma, in some cases it does not achieve a good filtering effect despite the use of mitomycin-C (MMC). The authors have developed a new surgical technique for uncontrollable glaucoma that uses amniotic membrane to prevent postoperative adhesion of conjunctiva and sclera. They performed trabeculectomy with a limbal-based conjunctival flap using 0.4 mg/ml of MMC for 2 minutes. Amniotic membrane was then placed under the scleral flap and sutured using 10-0 nylon. Among 14 eyes of 13 patients who underwent this procedure, intraocular pressure was controlled to less than 20 mm Hg after surgery in 13 eyes, including 3 eyes that underwent a second surgery with the same technique and 2 eyes that underwent laser trabeculoplasty. The authors' results suggest that this technique is efficacious for the reduction of intraocular pressure in high-risk glaucoma patients.