Outcomes of Deep Sclerectomy for Glaucoma Secondary to Sturge–Weber Syndrome

Aims: To report the outcomes and complications of deep sclerectomy in glaucoma secondary to Sturge–Weber syndrome (SWS). Methods: The retrospective case series included patients with SWS and secondary glaucoma who underwent deep sclerectomy at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2000 and 2021. The main outcome measures included intraocular pressure (IOP), the number of antiglaucoma medications, the presence of vision-threatening complications, and the need for further glaucoma surgery to control the IOP. The surgical outcome of each eye was based on the main outcome measures. Results: Twelve eyes of eleven patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 83.00 months (±74.2) (range 1 to 251 months). The IOP and number of antiglaucoma medications decreased significantly from a mean of 28.75 mm Hg (±7.4) and 3.17 (±0.8) to 15.30 mm Hg (±3.5) and 0.3 (±0.7), and 18.83 (±9.3) and 1.67 (±1.7) on the 24th month and the last follow-up visit postoperatively, respectively (p < 0.01 for both). The success rate was 66.6% (8/12), while the failure rate was 33.3% (4/12) because of the uncontrolled IOP where a single repeat glaucoma surgery achieved controlled IOP. One procedure was complicated by choroidal detachment and one by choroidal effusion; both complications were resolved by medical treatments. Conclusions: Deep sclerectomy seems to be an effective treatment modality for controlling IOP and for decreasing the burden of antiglaucoma medications in patients with SWS and secondary glaucoma. Further studies are needed to confirm such a conclusion on larger number of patients with longer follow-up periods.