Trabeculectomy Vs Non‐penetrating Deep Sclerectomy for the Surgical Treatment of Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Long-Term Report of 201 Eyes

INTRODUCTION: Glaucoma is the second leading cause of vision loss worldwide. The reduction of intraocular pressure remains the backbone of its therapy. Among surgical techniques for its treatment, deep non-penetrating sclerotomy is the most widely practiced non-penetrating surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of deep non-penetrating sclerotomy compared to standard trabeculectomy in patients with open-angle glaucoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study including 201 eyes with open-angle glaucoma. Closed-angle and neovascular cases were excluded. Absolute success was considered when intraocular pressure under 18 mmHg, or a reduction of at least 20% in patients with a baseline intraocular pressure below 22 mmHg, was obtained after 24 months, without the use of medication. Qualified success was considered when those targets were met with or without the use of hypotensive medication. RESULTS: Deep non-penetrating sclerectomy showed a slightly lower long-term hypotensive effect compared to standard trabeculectomy, with significant differences at 12 months, but not at 24 months of follow-up. The absolute and qualified success rates were 51.85% and 65.43% for the trabeculectomy group and 50.83% and 60.83% for the deep non-penetrating sclerectomy, without significant differences. Regarding postoperative complications, mainly due to postoperative hypotonia, or related to the filtration bleb, they were significantly different between groups, with 10.8% and 24.7%, in deep-nonpenetrating sclerectomy and trabeculectomy groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: Deep non-penetrating sclerectomy seems to be an effective and safe surgical option for patients with open-angle glaucoma unable to be controlled by non-invasive strategies. Data suggests that the intraocular pressure-lowering effect of this technique may be marginally lower than that of trabeculectomy, but the achieved efficacy outcomes were similar, with a significantly lower risk of complications.