Postoperative complications after Ahmed valve implantation
M.M. Bikbov, I.I. Husnitdinov

Ufa Research Institute of Eye Diseases, Russia

Purpose: To analyze the complications after Ahmed valve implantation in the early and late postoperative period.
Material and methods. We observed 116 patients (121 eyes) with refractory noncompensated glaucoma. Patient age - from 20 to 87 years (mean 62,71 ± 14,25): males - 67/116 (57.8%), females - 49/116 (42.2%). All patients were at high risk of intra- and postoperative complications. In 61/121 (50%) were previously performed antiglaucoma surgeries. Comorbidities: subcompensated diabetes, hypertensive disease and atherosclerosis in 74/116 (63.8%) patients.
Results. Postoperative complications in our study were observed in 37/121 cases (30.5%), among them hyphema is in 6/121 (2.7%) of the eyes; choroidal detachment - 11/121 (9.1%); encapsulation of the filtering bleb - 4/121 (3.3%); tube eruption - 4/121 (3.3%); dislocation of the valve - 4/121 (3.3%); epithelial and endothelial corneal dystrophy - 2/121 (1.6%); migration of the valve tube into the layers of the sclera - 2/121 (1.6%); inflammation in the form of exudate and fibrinous film in the region of the pupil - 2/121 (1.6%); postoperative astigmatism - 1/121 (0.8%); diplopia - 1/121 (0.8%).
Conclusion. Most of the complications of surgical treatment for refractory glaucoma with Ahmed valve implantation are caused by the initially severe condition of the operated eyes and by degenerative processes in the tissue covering the valve, which as any drainage is a foreign body. Despite the large number of postoperative complications, Ahmed valve implantation has proven to be an effective method of surgical treatment of refractory glaucoma.

Keywords: Ahmed valve, early and late postoperative complications, refractory glaucoma.

For citation: Bikbov M.M., Husnitdinov I.I. Postoperative complications after Ahmed valve implantation // RMJ. Clinical ophthalmology. 2016. № 2. P. 103–107.