Microinvasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) is still a new concept in glaucoma treatment surgery. The number of surgical procedures which can be considered as MIGS is constantly increasing. Such rapid growth in ophthalmology makes choosing the right procedure more difficult not only because of the number of ever-growing options, but also because of a number of other patient-related factors. Surgeons also have to face the question of which method they should master.
In a paper published in March 2022 in Acta Ophthalmologica, a team from the Department of Ophthalmology Medical University of Bialystok and the Department of Ophthalmology at the Military Medical Institute I Warsaw performed a meta-analysis based on available publications and analyzed microinvasive methods of glaucoma treatment in terms of efficacy and safety. Glaucoma is a multifactorial disease, and its course is so diverse that the need for multiple MIGS procedures still grows. The choice of the most appropriate procedure depends on the patient’s anatomy, the patient's intraocular target pressure and surgeons' experience.
The team also notes that microinvasive techniques greatly increase the safety of surgery but at the expense of efficiency. Therefore, many ophthalmologists consider them unsuitable for patients with advanced glaucoma and very high intraocular pressure. However, MIGS can be very effective in treating mild to moderate cases of glaucoma. Therefore, efficacy and safety analyses will greatly contribute to better treatment selection and help surgeons in their individual professional expertise.