Drainage tubes a growing trend in glaucoma management

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Drainage tubes are growing in popularity with glaucoma specialists, and there is growing evidence that they may be preferable to trabeculectomy, according to a speaker here.

LTC (Ret) Herbert P. Fechter

LTC (Ret) Herbert P. Fechter, MD, said at Kiawah Eye 2009 that a recent survey of American Glaucoma Society members showed an increasing preference for tubes and a decreasing reliance on trabeculectomy. That shift is probably due to growing evidence showing equal efficacy with the two management strategies and improved safety with tubes.

Dr. Fechter said that results from a 3-year comparison study presented by Steven J. Gedde, MD, showed similar reductions in IOP - from 25 mm Hg to 13 mm Hg - in patients treated with trabeculectomy or tube.

"The myth that tubes give you higher IOP than trabeculectomy does not bear true with this study," Dr. Fechter said. "In fact, the probability of failure with trabeculectomy is twice the probability of failure with a tube."

Use of tubes requires careful surgical planning and often means acquiring new instruments and new surgical skills. Yet, "despite many potential complications, tubes are a useful tool to help you lower the IOP in your glaucoma patients," Dr. Fechter said.

Kiawah Eye 2010 will be held May 13-15, 2010 at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. Learn more at KiawahEye.com.