2 stents helps eye pressure in glaucoma patients

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG) can be controlled using various treatments, including medications and surgical interventions. In cases where there is a clinically significant cataract, glaucoma procedures combined with the removal of the cataract can lower intraocular pressure (IOP) and reduce the need for glaucoma medications. One such procedure is the implantation of a trabecular micro-bypass stent, a minimally invasive procedure that has been shown with concurrent cataract surgery to significantly lower IOP and medication requirements compared to cataract surgery alone. In a recent study, researchers implanted 2 or 3 iStents (Glaukos Corp.) following cataract surgery on OAG patients to see if multiple stent implants had advantageous effects. 53 eyes of 47 patients received stents, and eyes requiring greater IOP control as determined by the surgeon received 3 stents instead of 2. At 1 year following the operation, the IOP had decreased by 3.5 mm Hg on average in the 2-stent group and by 3.9 mm Hg in the 3-stent group. Both reductions in IOP were statistically significant. In addition, there was a 64% decrease in glaucoma medications in the 2-stent group and an 85% decrease in the 3-stent group.¬† Here, both individual reductions and the difference between groups were significant. These results show that implantation of multiple micro-bypass stents with concurrent cataract surgery offers an effective treatment for OAG management, with a greater number of stents possibly providing additional benefit.