The Relationship between Serous Choroidal Detachment and the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Failure

Purpose: To investigate the effect of serous choroidal detachment (SCD) on the success of Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV) implantation. Methods: Patients who underwent AGV implantation and developed SCD were included in the case group. The control group was matched based on age, sex, baseline intraocular pressure (IOP), glaucoma type, and the number of glaucoma medications. The patient data were retrospectively extracted from available records. The primary outcome measure was an AGV success rate based on 5 < IOP <18 and a 20% reduction from baseline. Results: Seventeen patients were enrolled in the case group and 38 in the control group. Preoperative visual acuity of patients was 1.17 +/- 0.43 and 1.16 +/- 0.37 logMAR in the case and control groups, respectively. The patients in the case group showed higher mean IOP at all time intervals compared to controls. However, the mean IOP only reached a statistically significant difference at 3 months (17.94 +/- 6.78 mmHg vs. 13.39 +/- 3.09 mmHg, P = 0.003). The mean survival duration was significantly shorter in patients with SCD (10.4 +/- 0.7 months vs. 11.7 +/- 0.2 months for controls log-rank = 4.1, P = 0.04). The cumulative probability of success was 76.5% in patients with SCD and 94.7% in the control group after 12 months. Conclusions: SCD after AGV implantation could be a risk factor for failure. A larger prospective study with a longer follow-up duration is required to confirm the present study results.