Living with open-angle glaucoma means managing eye pressure to protect your vision. When surgery becomes an option, doctors often choose between procedures like XEN-only or Phaco-XEN and a traditional method called trabeculectomy. A review of 56 studies looked at how these options compare for patients.
The data shows that both XEN-only and Phaco-XEN surgeries are effective at lowering eye pressure. In fact, there was no significant difference in pressure or the number of medications needed between those two specific methods. However, when comparing XEN-only to trabeculectomy, the results were more mixed. While XEN-only showed lower pressure numbers, it also had a significantly higher rate of bleb needling, which is a procedure used when a surgical site becomes blocked.
Because of high variation in the data for some comparisons, these findings should be viewed with caution. Ultimately, both XEN and Phaco-XEN are effective ways to lower pressure, but trabeculectomy may offer a lower risk of needing bleb needling later on. Talk to your doctor about which path fits your specific needs.
