Incision-Free Minimally Invasive Conjunctival Surgery (MICS) for Late-Onset Bleb Leaks After Trabeculectomy (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis)

Purpose This study describes an incision-free minimally invasive conjunctival surgical (MICS) technique to repair late-onset leaking blebs after trabeculectomy. Methods A surgical technique to repair leaking blebs without incision or excision of conjunctiva is described. This is followed by retrospective review of all patients treated at the Glaucoma Unit at St. Michael's Hospital for bleb leaks repaired with MICS from 2012 to 2017. With Research Ethics Board approval, clinical data obtained from the charts included demographic information, vision, intraocular pressure (IOP) data before and after surgery, need for additional medication, and complications. Resolution of the bleb leak without the need for additional therapy or intervention for glaucoma control was considered a success. Results The MICS approach was applied to 14 eyes of 13 consecutive patients with a leaking bleb. Mean age of presentation was 70.2 ± 14.8 years, and all patients had a history of mitomycin use at the time of glaucoma surgery. The onset of bleb leak following trabeculectomy ranged from 7 months to 16.3 years. Mean pre-operative IOP was 4.5 ± 2.8 mm Hg; IOP measured 12.3 ± 3.0 mm Hg immediately after the procedure. Complete resolution of the bleb leak was observed following surgery in all cases. The follow-up period ranged from 2 weeks to 61 months (10.2 ± 18.1). Recurrent bleb leak was reported in 1 patient 2 years following initial surgery. In all cases, the initially repaired filtering blebs remained functional at last follow-up, and no additional medications were required. Conclusions The MICS procedure is an effective option for treating late-onset leaking blebs without cutting or excising conjunctival tissue. The minimal requirements of this method make it additionally accessible to low-resource settings. NOTE: Publication of this article is sponsored by the American Ophthalmological Society.