In this retrospective comparative analysis, excisional goniotomy with the KDB provided greater IOP reduction than did iStent (− 5.0 vs. − 2.3 mmHg, respectively; p < 0.001) at 12 months when both were performed in combination with cataract surgery. Furthermore, more eyes achieved IOP reductions of ≥ 20% at 12 months in the phaco-KDB group compared with the phaco-iStent group (64.2% vs. 41.6%, respectively; p < 0.001). When subject-specific goals were considered, 12-month mean IOP reductions in eyes with higher baseline IOP were − 8.9 mmHg (− 40.4%) and − 6.4 mmHg (− 30.6%) in the phaco-KDB and phaco-iStent groups, respectively (p < 0.001), and mean medication reductions were − 0.94 (− 61.5%) and − 1.00 (− 65.0%) in the two lower baseline IOP subgroups, respectively (p = 0.677), with no adverse effects on IOP control.
The IOP reductions seen in this study are consistent with IOP outcomes reported in prior studies. In prospective and retrospective studies of excisional goniotomy with the KDB performed at the time of cataract surgery, mean IOP reductions of − 24 to − 26.2% have been reported with follow-up periods of 6–12 months [12, 13]. In these same studies, the IOP-lowering medication burden was reduced by − 47.4 to − 50% [12, 13]. Outcomes in the current study, a reduction of − 27.3% in IOP and − 70.0% in IOP-lowering medications, are at least as favorable as in these prior reports. Likewise, studies of iStent implantation at the time of cataract surgery have reported IOP reductions in the range of − 8.2 to − 20.2%, with IOP medication reductions ranging from − 22.1 to − 93.3%, at 12–24 months [15, 18,19,20]. A meta-analysis of studies evaluating outcomes after combined cataract and iStent implantation concluded that the procedure delivered approximately − 9% IOP reduction after 1–5 years [21]. A retrospective single-site, single-surgeon comparison of KDB-Phaco vs. iStent-Phaco recently reported mean IOP reductions of 12.6% and 14.3%, respectively, in a cohort of eyes with low (~ 17.5 mmHg baseline IOP) and mean medication reductions of 27% and 65%, respectively, at 12 months [22]. These reported results are also consistent with the findings of the current study in which the phaco-iStent group had mean IOP reduction of − 13.7% and medication reduction of − 63.2%. Therefore, the differences observed in this study favoring excisional goniotomy with the KDB over iStent are not attributable to overperformance of the KDB procedure or underperformance of the iStent procedure arising from case selection bias and likely represent a true therapeutic advantage of KDB excisional goniotomy over iStent implantation in terms of IOP reduction in eyes with mild or moderate glaucoma undergoing combined cataract and glaucoma surgery.
This superior IOP-lowering efficacy of the phaco-KDB procedure over the phaco-iStent procedure was achieved with no increase in adverse events compared with iStent implantation. The most common adverse events observed, anterior chamber inflammation and transient elevations of IOP, occurred with similar incidence in both groups, and other less common adverse events also occurred at equal rates in both groups. Blood reflux, common to most angle procedures [23,24,25,26], was more common in the phaco-KDB group likely because of the nature of the procedure, as trabecular meshwork is excised in this procedure vs. only opened in the iStent procedure. One safety advantage of KDB goniotomy over iStent is that no permanent device is implanted in the eye during KDB goniotomy. Unanticipated long-term safety issues have been identified with MIGS procedures that require permanent device implantation. In the 5-year COMPASS XT study, significantly greater changes in corneal endothelial cell density were observed at month 60 in eyes undergoing cataract plus CyPass implantation (− 20.4%) compared with eyes undergoing cataract surgery alone (− 10.1%, p = 0.0032) [27], leading the manufacturer to voluntarily withdraw the device from the global marketplace [14]. Also, the absence of a permanent indwelling device ensures no contraindication to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if indicated for any reason subsequent to surgery. The iStent device is rated MR Conditional (indicating that MRI can be safely performed under certain conditions) [28], but such safety has not been evaluated clinically and is specific to lower Telsa (≤ 3 T) MRI systems, while higher T systems (7 T [29] and above [30]) are being developed for clinical use and are known to have higher transient adverse event rates than lower T systems [29, 30].
This study is limited by its retrospective design, in which subjects were not randomly assigned to treatment groups and outcomes data were collected via routine clinical practice, which is typically less robust than in prospective clinical trials. Of note, baseline demographic characteristics were unbalanced between groups, with more ethnic minorities and more secondary glaucomas in the phaco-KDB group. These are known risk factors for glaucoma surgery failure (although the effect of ethnicity on MIGS outcomes has not been evaluated and may differ from the effect known to affect traditional filtering surgeries [31]) and may have biased the study’s findings in favor of the iStent group, thus underestimating the efficacy of KDB goniotomy. Conversely, as pigmentary, pseudoexfoliation, and angle-closure glaucomas directly affect the TM and may be more amenable to TM-based procedures, having more of these cases in the KDB group could bias results in its favor. In fact, a recent publication reported IOP reductions of ~ 50% and medication reductions of ~ 90% 6 months after combined phacoemulsification, goniosynechialysis, and excisional goniotomy with the KDB in eyes with chronic angle closure glaucoma and peripheral anterior synechiae [32]. Also, mean baseline IOP was higher in the KDB group compared with the iStent group, which potentially permits a greater therapeutic effect. However, the ~ 40–180% greater percent IOP reductions from baseline seen in the KDB group cannot be explained by the ~ 8% difference in mean baseline IOP between the groups. Finally, only eyes that required no additional IOP-lowering surgery were included in this analysis. Thus, these results represent the outcomes to be expected in successful surgical cases and not in all cases undergoing these combined cataract-MIGS procedures. This provides a true estimate of efficacy in eyes with successful surgery, which can assist with procedure selection based on surgical goals of individual patients, but does not provide data on the likelihood of success (which have been reported elsewhere [12, 13, 15, 18,19,20,21]).
In summary, goniotomy with the KDB lowered IOP significantly more than did iStent implantation, both procedures at the time of cataract surgery, with comparable safety profiles. In eyes with mild to moderate glaucoma undergoing combined cataract extraction and glaucoma surgery, goniotomy with the KDB can deliver statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in both IOP and IOP medication burden.