Amniotic membrane grafts may offer enhanced visualization, tectonic support for glaucoma drainage device

Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging. 2011;42(3):184-189.

Amniotic membrane grafts may offer direct visualization of the underlying tube in glaucoma drainage device surgery, as well as strong tectonic support, a study suggested.

Biologically active amniotic membranes may work differently than other commonly used inert materials, which fail to integrate with the host and are associated with a silent melt, the study authors said.

The institutional retrospective case series included 44 patients who underwent tube implantation with a 300-µm cryopreserved amniotic membrane as the patch graft. Mean follow-up was 22 ± 3 months.

Ninety-three percent of eyes had an uneventful course, and the translucency of the graft allowed good visualization of the tube and occluding suture when laser suture lysis was performed. Sequential anterior segment optical coherence tomography illustrated stable graft thickness with a change from low to moderate reflectivity in the subconjunctival graft bilayer, as well as strong graft conformity to the tube.

Tube exposure and hypotony each occurred in one eye. Incidence of tube exposure was 2.3%, a rate that is comparable to that of other materials currently used for tube coverage, the study authors said.