Surgical outcomes of membrane-tube-type glaucoma shunt device in indigenous West Africans

The aim of this study was to report the safety and efficacy of the membrane-tube (MT)-type glaucoma shunt device (Finetube MT) in the management of refractory glaucoma in indigenous West Africans. The Finetube MT was implanted into 25 eyes of 25 West African patients with refractory glaucoma. These patients had inadequate intraocular pressure (IOP) control despite maximum tolerable IOP-lowering medications with or without previous ocular surgeries. IOP, postoperative complications, interventions, visual acuities, and the number of IOP-lowering medications were analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of the patients was 49.7 (20.9) years. The mean (SD) follow-up duration was 21.0 (10.6) months. Postoperatively, the mean (SD) IOP reduced from a preoperative value of 38.1 (10.3) mmHg to 14.5 (4.6), 16.1 (7.8), and 14.7 (3.0) mmHg at 1, 2, and 3 years postoperatively, respectively, representing 61.9%, 57.7%, and 61.4% reduction from baseline (