Background: Reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) by 20-30% with glaucoma drainage surgery slows disease progression in normal tension glaucoma (NTG). It is not clear whether adjunctive antiproliferative agents are necessary or safe in eyes at low risk for scarring.
Method: 86 eyes of 73 white NTG patients who had undergone a primary guarded fistulising procedure were reviewed. 25 eyes had no antiproliferatives, 36 had peroperative 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and 25 had peroperative mitomycin C (MMC). Their postoperative IOPs, complications, and changes in visual acuity were recorded.
Results: Eyes that had no adjunctive antiproliferative less commonly maintained a 20-30% reduction in IOP (47.4% at 2 years) compared with either the 5-FU group (69.4%at 2 years, p=0.01) or the MMC group (64.9% at 2 years, p=0.04). Eyes that had adjunctive MMC more often had late hypotony (28%, p=0.02) and late bleb leak (12%, p<0.001). Eyes that had adjunctive MMC also more often had a two lines loss of Snellen visual acuity (39.8% by 2 years) compared with those that had adjunctive 5-FU (14.7% by 2 years), p=0.06.
Conclusion: For NTG patients at low risk of scarring trabeculectomy with adjunctive peroperative 5-FU should maintain a suitable target IOP without the additional sight threatening complications seen with adjunctive MMC.