Surgical Repair of Leaking Filtering Blebs Using Two Different Techniques

PURPOSE To report the outcomes of two different surgical techniques for the repair of late onset bleb leakage following trabeculectomy. METHODS This retrospective study includes 21 eyes of 20 patients with prior trabeculectomy and late-onset bleb leaks; 14 eyes underwent excision of the filtering bleb together with conjunctival advancement while in the other 7 eyes the bleb was retained but de-epithelialized before conjunctival advancement. Success was defined as resolution of leakage with no need for additional glaucoma surgery together with intraocular pressure (IOP) of 5-21 mmHg. Complete and qualified success was considered when the above mentioned was achieved without or with glaucoma medications, respectively. RESULTS Mean duration of follow-up was 20.3±14.4 months. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of complete, qualified and overall success rates (P>0.05), however more antiglaucoma medications were necessary in the bleb excision group (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Both surgical techniques of bleb repair were comparably effective, however the bleb de-epithelialization technique was associated with less need for glaucoma medications after the procedure.