Long-term surgical outcomes of combined Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation and phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation for patients with glaucoma secondary to iridocorneal endothelial syndrome.

Background: To assess the long-term outcomes of patients with glaucoma secondary to iridocorneal endothelial syndrome (GS-ICE) who underwent Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation combined with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation surgery.

Methods: In this non-comparative retrospective case series study, twelve patients with uncontrolled GS-ICE and cataract underwent Ahmed aqueous shunt combined with phacoemulsification and IOL implantation surgery at Beijing Tongren Eye Center between June 2014 and June 2022. Main medical records included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), number of antiglaucoma medications (AGM), corneal status and further surgical interventions. Surgical success was defined as a postoperative IOP ≥ 6mmHg and ≤ 21mmHg without (complete success) or with/without (qualified success) topical AGM and vision of at least light perception during the follow-up period.

Results: Twelve eyes of twelve patients were reviewed. Preoperative IOP was decreased from a mean of 38.5 ± 6.7 mmHg on 3.3 ± 0.9 AGM to a mean of 16.3 ± 4.3 mmHg (P<0.001) on 0.6 ± 1.1 medications (P<0.001) at the last follow-up (47.0 ± 24.7 months). Eight eyes (66.7%) had stable vision or at least one line improvement than that before surgery. Eight eyes (66.7%) achieved qualified success and six eyes (50.0%) achieved complete success after surgery. The surgical procedure had a qualified survival of 91.7% at 1 year, 82.5% at 3 years, 72.2% at 5 years, and 48.1% at 7 years.

Conclusion: AGV implantation combined with phacoemulsification and IOL implantation seems to be an effective method in IOP control and vision maintain for patients with GS-ICE. The combined surgical procedure may be a reliable option for those GS-ICE patients with coexisting cataract.