Short and long term results of the first xen45 implanted in our service

Purpose To evaluate the surgical experience and the short and long‐term safety and efficacy of the first XEN45 implanted in our Service. Material and Methods We included the first 9 eyes of seven patients that received a XEN45 implant in our Service by two different surgeons. All the patients were diagnosed with primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) that was uncontrolled with medical treatment and were pseudophakics. Three had before a superior trabeculectomy. We evaluated pre and post‐surgery: intraocular pressure (IOP), number of ocular hypotensive drugs needed, visual acuity and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. We reviewed also the difficulties and complications events encountered during surgery and the implant position and bleb characteristics (IBAGS) 1,7 and 15 days, 1,3,6, and 12 months after surgery. Results Mean IOP before surgery was 22.33 ± 6.20 mm Hg and the mean number of ocular hypotensive medications 3.11 ± 0.93. One, 7, 15, days and 1,3,6 and 12 months after surgery, the mean IOP were, respectively 10.55 (n = 9), 13.44 (n = 9), 16.14 (n = 7), 16.20 (n = 5), 15.75 (n = 8), 19.57 (n = 9) and 14.33 (n = 5). One year after surgery, the mean number of ocular hypotensive medications was 1.33 (n = 5) There were only four intraoperative complications: two eyes had a small bleeding at the iridocorneal angle, in one eye the segment of the implant in the anterior chamber was too long and was cut in the moment of the surgery and in one eye the subconjunctival end of the bleb was bent and not functional and therefore was accessed externally three weeks later. No postoperative complications were observed and no further glaucoma surgeries were required during follow‐up. Conclusion The first XEN45 devices implanted in our Service have shown a good safety and efficacy for the treatment of pseudophakic POAG, with very few intraoperative and no postoperative complications.