New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai (NYEE) is helping to expand the treatment options for glaucoma patients through our participation in a number of major clinical trials. Many of these studies are part of the broad movement to micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), which is transforming glaucoma treatment through tiny devices like stents or shunts that enhance the outflow of fluid from the eye’s drainage canals, thus reducing pressure that has built up within the eye. We were part of the investigational trial, for example, for the Xen Gel Stent (Allergan), recently approved by the FDA for use in patients. The Xen Gel Stent is a soft, permanent tube implant that shunts fluid from the front chamber of the eye to the eye’s surface where it forms a “bleb” or blister beneath the conjunctiva (the “skin” that lines the surface of the white part of the eye). This new device is unique in that it bypasses the eye’s natural drainage pathway and is able to produce lower intraocular pressure than other forms of surgery.

NYEE has participated in clinical trials for other MIGS devices, including the InnFocus MicroShunt® (Santen) and the CyPass® MicroStent (Alcon), approved by the FDA to treat mild to moderate glaucoma patients undergoing cataract surgery. We have also joined the clinical trial for the Hyrdus microstent, a minimally invasive, intracanalicular scaffold that increases fluid outflow from the eye by bypassing the trabecular meshwork altogether.

Patients interested is participating in a clinical trial should speak to their ophthalmologist.