ABSTRACT
Aqueous shunts, also known as tube shunts or glaucoma drainage implants, are drainage devices designed to lower intraocular pressure by draining aqueous humor from the interior of the eye to an encapsulated reservoir near the equator of the globe. The restriction of flow of aqueous humor from the eye is important in the prevention of immediate postoperative hypotony and its attendant complications. Long-term outcomes of aqueous shunts appear to be similar to trabeculectomy, which has long been considered the gold standard in glaucoma surgery. Complications associated with aqueous shunts can be categorized as those associated with the reduction of intraocular pressure, with the functioning and placement of the tube, with the episcleral plate and the response of surrounding tissues to it, and with intraocular surgery per se. Historically, aqueous shunts have played a major role in the management of refractory glaucomas.
