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Micro-lumen aqueous shunt may prevent persistent hypotony
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CORONADO, Calif. — It is easier to put in a small tube than to do a trabeculectomy flap, Paul Palmberg, MD, PhD, said, referring to the use of a transscleral micro-lumen aqueous drainage device for lowering IOP.
Paul Palmberg
The InnFocus MicroShunt drainage device is an 8.5 mm long tube with a lumen diameter of 62 µm to 70 µm intended to deliver a predictable lower limit of pressure that should avoid persistent hypotony, once aqueous flow returns to normal, Palmberg said.
“The material is key,” he said at the annual meeting of the American Glaucoma Society. The device is made of a nonreactive polystyrene, a material that is already used in coronary stents.
The tube is inserted in an approximately 12-minute procedure, including application of mitomycin C, and does not need a patch graft, he said.
After 3 years’ follow-up in 22 patients implanted with the shunt, success rate was 96% in getting IOP down to 20 mm Hg or less and having a 20% decline in IOP; 82% of these patients have pressure less than 14 mm Hg off medication, he said.
“Most importantly, there were no cases of persistent hypotony,” Palmberg said.
Disclosure: Palmberg reports he is a consultant and medical monitor for InnFocus and a consultant and surgical trainer for AqueSys.