Patient information
Tube Shunt Surgery
A small tube and plate that carry fluid out of the eye, for glaucoma that needs surgery.
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What it is
A soft silicone tube is placed just inside the front of the eye and carries fluid to a thin plate on the wall of the eye, under the upper lid, where it is absorbed. The tube is covered with a patch. Some devices have a valve and work right away (Ahmed). Others have no valve and are tied off for the first four to six weeks while healing takes place (Baerveldt and similar); drops control the pressure until the tube opens.
The day of surgery
- Outpatient, with a numbing block and sedation; about an hour.
- You go home with a patch and shield. Bring a driver.
Recovery
- Drops: a steroid often at first, tapered over about six weeks; an antibiotic for the first week; an antibiotic ointment at bedtime for about two weeks. With a non-valved device, keep using the glaucoma drops you are told to until the tube opens.
- Visits: the next day, one week, then every one to two weeks for the first six weeks.
- Wear the shield at night for two weeks. For the first month, avoid rubbing the eye, swimming, heavy lifting and bending with your head down.
- Normal at first: blurry vision, a scratchy feeling, mild ache, and a red, swollen eye for one to two weeks. The eye may feel slightly full where the plate sits. Early double vision usually settles.
Call the same day if
- Pain increases rather than eases
- Vision suddenly worsens
- The eye becomes much redder or has discharge
- You can see or feel the tube, or the eye feels very hard or very soft