Anterior Chamber Tube Shunt to a Surgical Membrane

ABSTRACT

Ahn et al.(1989) reported that glaucoma tube shunt surgery using 0.1 mm thickness expanded polytetrafluoroethylene(e-PTFE) as a template controlled the intraocular pressure successfully. But it requires the placement of intraluminal suture in the silicone tube to prevent early postoperative hypotony. To overcome this disadvantage, we modified the template by putting the posterior end of the silicone tube between the two-fold e-PTFE membrane and implanted it in 5 refractory glaucoma patients. The intraocular pressure was controlled without complications such as early hypotony, flat anterior chamber, and choroidal detachment.