TAG (Tube and Graft) Sandwich Technique: A Novel Single-Stage Scleral Reinforcement and Aqueous Drainage Tube Implantation

Abstract

Purpose. Refractory glaucoma patients continue to require surgical intervention in the form of trabeculectomy surgery or glaucoma drainage device (GDD). Those patients that require a GDD but have thin sclera or scleromalacia present a challenge. Methods. In this article, we present a novel “TAG sandwich” single surgical procedure in which thinned sclera is reinforced with a pericardial patch graft (“bottom layer of the sandwich”) allowing safe implantation of the GDD (“the tube sandwich filling”) and then placing another patch graft on top of the tube part of the GDD (“top layer of the sandwich”). The surgery was performed on an open-angle glaucoma patient with a generalized thin sclera and uncontrolled intraocular pressure despite maximal topical medication and oral acetazolamide. Results. Reinforcing a compromised sclera with a pericardium patch graft allowed the safe implantation of a glaucoma drainage device. The patient’s intraocular pressure was safely controlled at 7 mmHg almost 1-year postsurgery without intraocular pressure-lowering drops. Conclusions. This scleral strengthening procedure can be considered by readers in other ocular surgeries where there is a risk of scleral perforation, as well as part of a combined surgery where refractory glaucoma patients with thin sclera require scleral reinforcement to allow for safer implantation of a glaucoma drainage device.