ABSTRACT
Glaucoma implants are not new. In fact, the idea of controlling intraocular pressure (IOP) with an external tube has been tested for almost 100 years. Some of the materials that have been tried include horse hair, silk and tubes of solid pure gold. The long-term success in the early days was poor and the complication rate was quite high. However, with improved surgical techniques and the use of plastics, glaucoma drainage implants have, rightfully, come to occupy a special place in the armamentarium of glaucoma surgery.
