Ep. 015: The New Category of Glaucoma Surgeries (MIGS) with Ashley San Filippo, MD

Dr. Ashley San Filippo returns to the Healthy Eyes 101 podcast to discuss MIGS (Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery), a relatively new category of glaucoma procedures that have advantages over traditional glaucoma surgeries.

Lowering eye pressure is the major goal of glaucoma treatment since this disease is not curable. Medicated eye drops, laser surgery, and traditional surgery are various ways to treat glaucoma. If patients are on maximum medical therapy with continued progression of their glaucoma, cannot tolerate the drops, or are non-compliant with taking their drops, then laser or surgical intervention may be necessary. 

MIGS has given patients a new avenue of treatment that has a much quicker post-operative recovery than traditional glaucoma surgery. While most MIGS are indicated to lower eye pressure in mild-to-moderate stages of glaucoma, their safety profile is favorable to trabeculectomies and glaucoma drainage implants. MIGS work by increasing outflow of the normal eye fluid or decreasing the production of the fluid. In the United States, most of the MIGS procedures have to performed in conjunction with cataract surgery.  

Trabecular bypass procedures

• iStent and iStent Inject 
• Hydrus 

Trabecular tissue incision/excision procedures

• Kahook Dual Blade goniotomy 
• Trabectome 
• Trab 360/OMNI
• Gonioscopy-Assisted Transluminal Trabeculotomy

Laser endocyclophotocoagulation 

Here is some more information on MIGS:

• https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/migs-the-new-age-of-glaucoma-surgery.php
• https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/what-is-migs.php

Scroll down to the MIGS video on Dr. San Filippo’s glaucoma page to watch her explain iStent on a local news show. 

To find out more about Dr. San Filippo, go to her website or follow her practice on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

This is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and nothing in this podcast/blog is to be considered as recommending or rendering medical advice or treatment to a specific patient. Please consult your eye care specialist for proper diagnosis and treatment of any eye conditions that you may have.