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PURPOSE: To investigate the outflow characteristics of silicone tubes with intraluminal stents used in membrane-tube (MT) type glaucoma shunt devices. METHODS: The silicone tubes used in MicroMT (internal diameter of 100 μm with a 7-0 nylon intraluminal stent) and Finetube MT (internal diameter of 200 μm with a 5-0 nylon intraluminal stent) were connected to a syringe-pump that delivered a continuous flow of distilled water at flow rates of 2, 5, 10, and 25 μL/min. The pressures and resistances of tubes were measured at a steady flow rate with full-length, half-length, and absence of intraluminal stents. RESULTS: The mean outflow resistance of the two types of tubes ranged from 3.0 ± 1.9 to 3.8 ± 1.7 mmHg/μL/min with a full-length intraluminal stent, 1.8 ± 1.1 to 2.2 ± 1.1 mmHg/μL/min with a half-length intraluminal stent, and 0.1 ± 0.0 to 0.2 ± 0.0 mmHg/μL/min without an intraluminal stent. Theoretically, for a physiologic state with a flow rate of 2 μL/min and episcleral venous pressure of 6 mmHg, the mean pressures of tubes were expected to be 13.2 ± 3.0, 10.5 ± 2.4, and 6.4 ± 0.2 mmHg in MicroMT with full-length, half-length, and absence of intraluminal stents, respectively, and 12.5 ± 3.9, 9.6 ± 2.4, and 6.2 ± 0.2 mmHg in Finetube MT with full-length, half-length, and absence of intraluminal stents, respectively. The pressure variance also decreased with intraluminal stent retraction ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The small diameter tubes of 100 and 200 μm internal diameters, with 7-0 and 5-0 nylon intraluminal stents, respectively, used in the MT-type glaucoma shunt device showed safe and effective outflow characteristics.
Department of Ophthalmology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Full article12.8.2 With tube implant or other drainage devices (Part of: 12 Surgical treatment > 12.8 Filtering surgery)