Comparison of choroidal detachment with and without hypotony after Ahmed valve implantation.

Purpose: To compare the clinical manifestations of and risk factors for choroidal detachment (CD) with or without hypotony after Ahmed valve implantation (AVI).

Study design: Retrospective, consecutive case series.

Methods: We enrolled patients with glaucoma who underwent AVI, and divided them into CD and non-CD groups. The patients with CD were divided into those with and without hypotony. Data collected from the chart review before and after AVI included patient demographics and ocular characteristics. We analyzed the risk factors for CD development. The relationship between hypotony and CD development was also analyzed.

Results: Among the 387 eyes, 63 developed CD. Among these 63 eyes, 42 had CD with hypotony and 21 had CD without hypotony. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that age (P < 0.001), lens status (P < 0.001), history of diabetes mellitus (DM) (P = 0.011), and history of hypertension (HTN) (P = 0.002) were significant predictors of CD development. Neovascular glaucoma (NVG) showed 42.9% of CD cases without hypotony. This rate was higher than primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and exfoliative glaucoma (XFG). The rate of anterior chamber formation as treatment of CD was significantly higher in CD with hypotony than in CD without hypotony.

Conclusions: Older age, pseudophakic eyes, DM, and HTN are significantly associated with CD development after AVI. NVG has higher incidence rates of CD without hypotony compared with POAG and XFG. Therefore, clinicians should pay attention to CD development after AVI especially in NVG, even if a patient is not in a hypotonic state.