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Pars plana vitrectomy for malignant glaucoma in nonglaucomatous and in filtered glaucomatous eyes

Authors Matlach J, Slobodda, Grehn F, Klink

Received 27 September 2012

Accepted for publication 15 October 2012

Published 27 November 2012 Volume 2012:6 Pages 1959—1966

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S38591

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Juliane Matlach, Joerg Slobodda, Franz Grehn, Thomas Klink

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany

Purpose: To assess the outcomes of pars plana vitrectomy for the treatment of malignant glaucoma in patients with and without previous filtration surgery.
Patients and methods: Data of 15 patients developing malignant glaucoma after trabeculectomy (60%) or following ophthalmic interventions other than filtration surgery (40%) were recorded retrospectively. Pars plana vitrectomy was performed in case of failed medical or laser treatment recreating the normal pathway of aqueous humor. The main outcome measures were the postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP), the frequency of complications, and success rate based on the following criteria: IOP reduction by ≥20% and to ≤21 mmHg (definition one) or an IOP < 18 mmHg (definition two) with (qualified success) and without (complete success) glaucoma medication.
Results: Vitrectomy reduced IOP from baseline in eyes with and without previous trabeculectomy during a median follow-up of 16.4 months (range 7 days to 58 months); although the majority of patients required glaucoma medication to reach desired IOP. The complete success rates were 11% (both definitions) for patients with filtering blebs and none of the patients without previous trabeculectomy had complete success at the 12-month visit. Complications were few and included transient shallowing of the anterior chamber, choroidal detachment, corneal decompensation, filtering bleb failure, and need for further IOP-lowering procedures.
Conclusion: Pars plana vitrectomy is equally effective for malignant glaucoma caused by trabeculectomy or interventions other than filtration surgery, although IOP-lowering medication is necessary in nearly all cases to maintain target IOP.

Keywords: ciliolenticular block glaucoma, malignant glaucoma, pars plana vitrectomy, trabeculectomy

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