Ultrasound evaluation of glaucoma drainage devices in children

This study evaluated B-scan ultrasound as a technique for assessing glaucoma drainage device (GDD) patency/function in refractory pediatric glaucoma. We retrospectively evaluated 70 eyes of 52 patients after Ahmed (n = 40 eyes), Baerveldt (n = 27 eyes) and Molteno (n = 5 eyes) GDD implantation; 2 eyes each had 2 GDDs. Median age was 6.5 years. Glaucoma diagnoses included primary congenital glaucoma (n = 19) and secondary glaucoma associated with aphakia (n = 16), aniridia (n = 5), Peters anomaly (n = 3), uveitis (n = 2), and other conditions (n = 7). B-scan ultrasound evaluation proved helpful to clinical assessment when the GDD tube was not seen because of opaque corneas (n = 20 eyes), the bleb was not visualized (n = 21 eyes), or IOP was elevated (n = 28 eyes). Ultrasound findings suggesting a nonpatent or malfunctioning GDD were further confirmed by subsequent intraoperative bleb needling (n = 2 eyes) and GDD revision (n = 7 eyes). B-scan ultrasound evaluation can serve as a useful adjunct in evaluating GDD patency/function in selected eyes with refractory pediatric glaucoma and may aid in clinical management.