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OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of the Baerveldt® glaucoma implant (BGI) between a preserved donor scleral patch alone and double scleral flaps, comprising a preserved donor scleral patch and an autologous scleral pedicle flap. METHODS: This was an open-label retrospective study. We analyzed the cases of 52 consecutive patients (56 eyes) who underwent BGI surgery with the Hoffman elbow (#BG 102-350, Abbott) and were followed up for >1 year. Twenty-one eyes underwent BGI surgery with a preserved donor scleral patch alone (donor-patch group), and the other 35 eyes underwent BGI surgery with a preserved donor scleral patch and an autologous scleral pedicle flap (double-flap group). The main outcome was the incidence of Hoffman elbow exposure associated with each surgical approach. RESULTS: Three patients in the donor-patch group (14.3%) developed Hoffman elbow exposure, whereas in the double-flap group, no cases had Hoffman elbow exposure (p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: The use of the double scleral flaps technique was more efficient in preventing Hoffman elbow exposure.
Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan. tojo@med.u-toyama.ac.jp.
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