Amniotic membrane grafts for glaucoma surgery

Abstract

Human amniotic membrane (AM) is the innermost layer of the placental membrane. While the tough, semitransparent nature of AM is valuable as a graft for ocular surface reconstruction, it is the unique inherent biological action of AM during embryogenesis that has spawned increasing interests over the past decade in ophthalmology. The biological actions known to AM include antiinflammatory, antiscarring, anti-angiogenic, and growth-promoting effects. Several investigators have explored the clinical efficacy of deploying AMT as an adjunctive therapy to improve the surgical outcome of various glaucoma procedures including high-risk trabeculectomy, repair of conjunctival buttonholes during trabeculectomy, repair of early- and late-onset bleb leak, and covering of the shunt tube in glaucoma drainage devices (GDDs) during primary insertion or exposure. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.