The effect of adjunctive mitomycin C in Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation

PURPOSE. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of adjunctive mitomycin C (MMC) in Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation for refractory glaucoma. METHODs. Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients who underwent AGV implantation with adjunctive MMC (0.5 mg/ml) for 3 minutes (Group A) were compared to a control group of 26 eyes of 26 patients (Group B) who received AGV implantation without MMC. Nine patients were female and 13 patients were male in Group A and 11 patients were female and 15 patients were male in Group B. The mean age was 56 years ranging from 13 to 77 in Group A and 58 ranging from 14 to 71 years in Group B. Success was defined as an intraocular pressure (IOP) between 4 and 21 mmHg with or without glaucoma medication and with no additional glaucoma surgery, phthisis, or loss of light perception. RESULTS. The probability of success at 1 year was 86.36% and 80.76% in Group A and Group B, respectively. The number of glaucoma medications decreased from 2.82 to 0.56 in Group A and from 2.65 to 0.73 in Group B. Postoperative hypotony as an early complication was higher in Group A (31.81% in Group A and 15.38% in Group B). As a late postoperative complication, tube exposure developed in 3 patients (13.63%) in Group A and no such complication was seen in Group B. There was no statistically significant difference in success and complication rates between the two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. Although adjunctive MMC in AGV implantation is safe and effective, it may not offer a better chance of surgical success compared with AGV implantation without MMC.