Type of Surgery
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Last updated: 02/17/2009
Usually the IOP is lower within two weeks of Seton tube placement. At two months, the pressure is stabilized at 16–18 mm/Hg. Glaucoma medication must still be taken. The IOP in 85% of patients with a non-valved implant is lower than 21 mm/Hg without...
additional medication intervention. Only 50% of patients with a Krupin valve implant have an IOP lower than 21 mm/Hg without added medical treatment.
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Tube-shunt surgery, or Seton tube shunt glaucoma surgery, is a surgical method to treat glaucoma. Glaucoma is a potentially blinding disease affecting 2–3% of the United States population. The major known cause of glaucoma is a relative increase in intraocular pressure, or IOP. The purpose of glaucoma treatment, whether medical or surgical, is to lower the IOP.
Aqueous fluid is made continuously, and circulates throughout the eye before draining though channels in the eye's anterior chamber. When too much fluid is made, or it is not drained sufficiently, the IOP rises. This fluid build-up can lead to glaucoma. Normal intraocular pressure is under 21 mm/Hg. Glaucoma develops at IOPs higher than 21mm/Hg. However, approximately 20% of glaucoma patients never have pressures higher than 21 mm/Hg.
From http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/St-Wr/Tube-Shunt-Surgery.html
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Surgeons aim for results of 20/20 or better so that you can perform most daily activities without your glasses. However, there is a possibility that after surgery, you may need to wear reading glasses or corrective lenses for at least some activities.
-Eye Surgery Education Council
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