The Tube Versus Trabeculectomy Study: interpretation of results and application to clinical practice.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The Tube Versus Trabeculectomy (TVT) Study is a multicenter randomized clinical trial comparing the safety and efficacy of tube-shunt surgery to trabeculectomy with mitomycin C (MMC) in eyes with previous cataract and/or failed glaucoma surgery. This article interprets results from the TVT Study and applies them to clinical practice. RECENT FINDINGS: Both tube-shunt surgery and trabeculectomy with MMC produced intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction to the low teens throughout the 5-year duration of the study. Tube-shunt surgery was associated with use of more glaucoma medications than trabeculectomy with MMC during the first 2 years of the study, but medical therapy equalized with longer follow-up. Trabeculectomy with MMC had higher rates of surgical failure and reoperation for glaucoma compared with tube-shunt surgery. Vision loss occurred at a similar rate with the two surgical procedures. Early complications were more frequent after trabeculectomy with MMC relative to tube-shunt surgery, but both procedures had similar rates of late postoperative complications and serious complications. SUMMARY: Tube-shunt surgery and trabeculectomy with MMC are both viable surgical options for managing glaucoma in patients who have undergone prior cataract and/or failed filtering surgery. Results of the TVT Study support the expanding use of tube shunts beyond refractory glaucomas.

Duke Scholars

Author Leon Walker Herndon Jr. Ophthalmology, Glaucoma

Author Pratap Challa Ophthalmology, Glaucoma

Author Frank Joseph Moya Ophthalmology, Glaucoma