Ahmed valve in high-risk glaucoma surgery

We used the Ahmed valve for the treatment of 142 eyes with high-risk glauco ma. The glaucoma was neovascular in 74 cases, aphakic or pseudophakic in 19 eyes and occurred after previous failure of filtering surgery in 49 eyes. Preoperative mean IOP was 316 +/- 10.4 mmHg under topical and/or systemic t reatment. The success rate (IOP<22 mmHg with only topical treatment) was 56 .3% with a mean follow-up of 32.4 months. Complications were fewer and mild er compared with those reported for other types of drainage implants and fo r other types of antiglaucoma procedures.