XEN Gel Implant: a new surgical approach in glaucoma

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering is the only effective treatment strategy. Traditional glaucoma surgeries are generally considered to be unpredictable and associated with a high rate of complications. This has led to the development of a novel XEN Gel Implant, a type of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), lowering the IOP without extensive surgical dissection.

Areas covered: A literature search was undertaken on PubMed using the terms XEN glaucoma, gelatin microstent, and MIGS. All the articles and case reports on XEN Gel Implant and selected articles on MIGS were studied and reviewed. We have discussed the results of most studies on XEN Gel Implant related to its efficacy, safety and success.

Expert commentary: The XEN Gel Implant effectively lowers IOP and medication use, with a favorable safety profile. Long-term data on its success and cost-effectiveness are lacking. The studies have shown it to be without any serious adverse events and to have good safety profile encouraging future research on this novel implant. There is a need to correctly identify selection criteria for patients, who would benefit the most from the XEN Gel Implant.

KEYWORDS:

• XEN
• Gel Implant
• glaucoma
• MIGS
• ab-interno implantation

Declaration of interest

K Mansouri and A Mermoud have been consultants for Allergan. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. A peer reviewer on this manuscript has disclosed they have been a consultant for Allergan and Glaukos. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This article was not funded.