Effectiveness of MicroShunt in Patients with Primary Open-Angle and Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma: A Retrospective European Multicenter Study

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the Preserflo MicroShunt implant (Santen) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG). Design: Retrospective, open-label, multicenter study. Participants: Patients with insufficiently controlled primary POAG or PXG who underwent a standalone MicroShunt implantation procedure. Methods: Consecutive patients with POAG and PXG who underwent surgery with the ab externo minimally invasive glaucoma surgery device Preserflo MicroShunt with mitomycin C. Main outcome measures: Primary end points were mean change in intraocular pressure (IOP) and number of hypotensive medications from baseline through month 12. Success was defined as an IOP of 18 mmHg or less and an IOP reduction of 20% or more, with (qualified) or without (complete) any hypotensive medication. Results: Among the 130 patients who underwent MicroShunt implantation, 104 fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Eighty-one eyes (77.9%) were diagnosed with POAG and 23 eyes (22.1%) were diagnosed with PXG. The mean age was 71.4 ± 12.6 years, and 45 patients (43.3%) were women. Mean IOP was lowered significantly from 25.1 ± 6.5 mmHg at baseline to 14.1 ± 3.4 mmHg at month 12 (P < 0.0001). At month 12, 27 eyes (26.0%) were categorized as complete successes and 61 eyes (58.7%) were categorized as qualified successes. The mean number of hypotensive medications was reduced significantly from 3.0 ± 1.0 medications at the preoperative visit to 0.77 ± 0.95 medication at month 12 (P < 0.001). Throughout the study, 19 eyes (18.3%) required needling and 14 eyes (13.5%) underwent surgical revision. Eight eyes (7.7%) showed hyphema and 5 eyes (4.8%) showed choroidal detachment. These were resolved with medical therapy without sequelae. Four patients underwent subsequent surgeries, and 2 patients underwent trabeculectomy (at months 3 and 6): One patient underwent transscleral cyclophotocoagulation at month 3 and 1 patient underwent MicroPulse cyclophotocoagulation at month 4. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, the MicroShunt effectively lowered IOP and the need for IOP-lowering medications.