Abstract
Purpose :
Studies investigating the XEN Gel Stent, a device used for IOP lowering in POAG, do not adequately represent African American patients in their patient population. Our goal is to better represent our patient population, a predominantly African American demographic, as we believe that the results of previous studies may or may not be generalizable.
Methods :
We performed a retrospective, clinical review of patients who underwent XEN Gel Stent surgery to improve our understanding of the outcomes and adverse effects of the procedure in our patient population to guide us in the treatment of POAG. Thirty three patients who underwent combined cataract and XEN Gel Stent procedures and XEN Gel Stent alone performed at the HUH Ophthalmology Department were reviewed. Ethnicity, sex and age were recorded. Visual acuity, IOP, number of IOP lowering medications, and surgical complications were recorded for pre-operative and post operative day 1, weeks 1-4, and months 2-12. In addition we analyzed whether any additional procedures were required.
Results :
The average pre-operative IOP was 21.03mmHg (95% CI 18.59-23.48) and the average post-operative IOP day 1 was 10.4mmHg (95% CI 8.83-11.99); week 1 was 13.3mmHg (95 % CI 10.88-15.72), week 2 was 11.4mmHg (95% CI 8.86-13.94), month 1 was 12.8mmHg (95% CI 10.5-15.0), month 2 was 15.0 (95% CI 12.78-17.22), and month 4 was 13.6mmHg (95% CI 12.59-14.66). The mean pre-operative vs post-operative number of IOP lowering medications at one month was 2.5 vs 0.65 (P<0.05). 7 out of 28 patients required bleb needling with average pre and post needling IOP being 19.71mmHg and 10.14mmHg respectively (P<0.05). There were no other surgical complications or adverse events.
Conclusions :
XEN Gel stent is an effective treatment for IOP lowering in our predominantly African American patient population at HUH, and there was a significant reduction in medications required to control IOP post-operatively. There were no serious adverse events, and nearly a third of patients required bleb needling in the immediate post-operative period.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.