Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the postoperative course after Xen45 Gel Stent implantation at the Medical University of Graz from 2014-2016. Methods: Single-center, retrospective study. All patients with Xen implantation between 2014 and 2016 were included. Clinical records and reports received from supervising ophthalmologists were used for evaluations. Investigated parameters were intraocular pressure (IOP), the number of medications, visual acuity, and the number of previous operations, IOP-follow-up, intraoperative and postoperative complications, the rate of interventions (needling), and additionally performed surgeries. Results: Xen was implanted in 199 eyes of 160 patients. Mean preoperative IOP was 22.8±6.9 mm Hg on 2.9±1.0 IOP-lowering medication. After 12 months follow-up, mean IOP was 17.1±5.9 mm Hg (n=89, P<0.0001; mean reduction of 22.7%) on 1.8±1.4 (n=87; P<0.0001) IOP-lowering medications. There were no intraoperative complications and in two cases (1.0%) severe postoperative adverse events occurred (aqueous misdirection and late-onset endophthalmitis). Postoperative needling was indicated in 44 cases (22.1%), while in 28 cases (14.1%) an additional glaucoma surgery was performed. Conclusions: Our results indicate that Xen implantation is an effective surgical intervention leading to a significant reduction of IOP and number of medications with a low rate of complications. An attentive postoperative management seems to be mandatory.

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Precis: Tape sealing of the face mask can prevent fogging artifacts of visual field testing. Here, we demonstrate that tape sealing can improve visual field scores even when fogging artifacts are not obvious. Purpose:The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that visual field scores improve when the face masks are taped to prevent fogging artifacts.Methods: A Single-center, randomized 2×2 cross-over study. Twenty-six visual fields of 13 patients of the glaucoma outpatient clinic were included. Patients were randomized in either sequence 1 (Octopus visual field examination without tape sealing, followed by examination with tape sealing) or sequence 2 (examination with, followed by without tape sealing). Results:The results for mean defect and square root of loss variance differ significantly in the examination with and without tape sealing [mean difference (without−with) 0.39 dB, 95% confidence interval: 0.07-0.70 dB, P = 0.018 and 0.49 dB, 95% confidence interval: 0.19-0.79 dB, P = 0.003, respectively]. There was no sequence effect (P = 0.967) for mean defect nor the square root of loss variance (P = 0.779). A significant effect for period (P = 0.023) for mean defect was yielded. Conclusion:Tape sealing of face masks during visual field testing prevented fogging artifacts and improved visual field scores even when fogging artifacts were not obvious and should be considered in clinical practice.

Background: As the number of surgical options in glaucoma treatment is continuously rising, evidence regarding distinctive features of these surgeries is becoming more and more important for clinicians to choose the right surgical treatment for each individual patient. Methods: For this retrospective data analysis, we included glaucoma patients treated with either continuous wave (CW-TSCPC) or micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (MP-TSCPC) in an inpatient setting. Pain intensity was assessed using a numeric rating scale (NRS) ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain) during hospitalization. CW-TSCPC was performed using OcuLight® Six (IRIDEX Corporation, Mountain View, CA, USA) and MP-TSCPC was performed using the IRIDEX® Cyclo-G6 System (IRIDEX Corporation, Mountain View, CA, USA). Results: A total of 243 consecutive cases of TSCPC were included. Of these, 144 (59.26%) were treated with CW-TSCPC and 99 (40.74%) with MP-TSCPC. Using the univariable model, the risk for postoperative pain was observed to be lower in MP-TSCPC compared with CW-TSCPC (unadjusted: OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.24–0.84, p = 0.017), but this did not hold using the multivariable model (adjusted: OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.27–1.02, p = 0.056). Simultaneously conducted anterior retinal cryotherapy was associated with a higher risk for postoperative pain (OR 4.41, 95% CI 2.01–9.69, p < 0.001). Conclusions: We found that the occurrence of postoperative pain was not different in CW-TSCPC compared with MP-TSCPC in a multivariable model. In cases of simultaneous anterior retinal cryotherapy, the risk for postoperative pain was significantly higher.