Aqueous-Shunt Surgery
Glaucoma Drainage Tube
Figure. A glaucoma drainage implant allows fluid to drain from inside the eye out through a tube and into a plate.
A glaucoma drainage implant is a shunt used to lower your eye pressure. The shunt consists of two parts: a small tube and a plate. The small tube is inserted into your eye and enables fluid to drain out. The plate is attached to the tube and placed beneath the conjunctiva to form a reservoir where the fluid will drain, known as a bleb. This allows the fluid to bypass your eye’s natural drain, which does not work in glaucoma, thereby effectively reducing eye pressure.
Glaucoma drainage implants have traditionally been reserved for patients with severe uncontrolled glaucoma who have failed trabeculectomy surgery or those with a high likelihood of trabeculectomy failure. The surgery takes around 1 ½ hours and is usually performed under general anaesthesia. Patients are usually discharged home from hospital either the same day as the surgery or the following day, and there will need to be some follow-up care and clinic visits to ensure the procedure is as effective as possible. It can take several months for the eye to feel completely back to normal.
Mr Agrawal is an expert in the insertion of both valved (Ahmed) and non-valved (Baerveldt, PAUL) glaucoma drainage implants and will advise you on the best approach for your eye condition.
For further information on this surgery please click on this patient information sheet.