Postoperative Complications in the Ahmed Baerveldt Comparison Study During Five Years of Follow up.
PURPOSE To compare the late complications in the Ahmed Baerveldt Comparison Study during 5 years of follow up. DESIGN Multicenter, prospective randomized clinical trial. METHODS setting: Sixteen international clinical centers. STUDY POPULATION Two hundred seventy six subjects aged 18 85 years with previous intraocular surgery or refractory glaucoma with intraocular pressure of >18 mm Hg. INTERVENTIONS Ahmed Glaucoma Valve FP7 or Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant BG 101 350. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Late postoperative complications (beyond 3 months) reoperations for complications, and decreased vision from complications. RESULTS Late complications developed in 56 subjects (46.8 4.8 5 year cumulative SE) in the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve group and 67 (56.3 4.7 5 year cumulative SE) in the Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant group (P .082) The cumulative rates of serious complications were 15.9% and 24.7% in the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve and Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant groups, respectively (P .034) although this was largely driven by subjects who had tube occlusions in the 2 groups (0.8% in the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve group and 5.7% in the Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant group, P .037) Both groups had a relatively high incidence of persistent diplopia (12% and corneal edema (20% although half of the corneal edema cases were likely due to pre existing causes other than the aqueous shunt. The incidence of tube erosion was 1% and 3% in the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve and Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant groups, respectively (P .04) CONCLUSIONS Long term rates of vision threatening complications and complications resulting in reoperation were higher in the Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant than in the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve group over 5 years of follow up.
American journal of ophthalmology