Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the world. It affects 78M people every year – expected to grow to 111M by 2040. More than 11 million people will be blinded due to glaucoma this year (13% of all glaucoma patients)1,2,3. There is no cure yet – there are only treatments to relieve symptoms. Advance of the disease can be substantially slowed through proper treatment. It’s very important to act early because lost vision cannot be regained.
The most common surgical procedure used in open-angle glaucoma is a trabeculectomy (also known as filtration surgery). This procedure is invasive, requires years of surgical experience and is associated with relatively high complication and failure rates as well as prolonged visual instability.
Most patients are initially treated with topical medication, but often this option is insufficient to reach the appropriate IOP, or is not tolerated due to side effects. Furthermore, in many third world countries medications are too costly and a one-time intervention is necessary. Also, low patient compliance with medications is a serious problem in Glaucoma. Thus frequently, surgery becomes necessary.
Healing and scarring are the main obstacles for long term IOP control after filtration surgery. Antimetabolites such as 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Mitomycin C (MMC) are frequently used to reduce scarring and improve drainage. The use of these substances is potentially hazardous and requires high expertise to prevent overfiltration and hypotony. Therefore there is a need to widen the existing surgical options for Glaucoma.
Interventional Glaucoma means acting sooner & safer. Minimally Invasive Micro Sclerostomy is fast, accessible & effective. It works by inserting a specially designed cutting tool into the sclera & removing a small channel of tissue. This channel will remain open & contentiously drain, effectively reducing IOP buildup. MIMS® is a rapid & minimal procedure at the forefront of Interventional Glaucoma treatments. Fewer complications allows for effective IOP management. MIMS® is a lightweight surgical system intended for use by trained professional ophthalmologists. It’s easy to learn remotely, intuitive to operate & requires fewer staff to assist in non- surgical environments. A central control screen demonstrates the parameters & a foot pedal initiates the handheld needle movement.
1. Tham YC, Li X, Wong TY, Quigley HA, Aung T, Cheng CY. Global prevalence of glaucoma and projections of glaucoma burden through 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2014 Nov;121(11):2081-90. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2014.05.013. Epub 2014 Jun 26. PMID: 24974815.
2. Glaucoma Information Statistics – Glaucoma Information (glaucomapatients.org), 2024
3. Allison K, Patel D, Alabi O. Epidemiology of Glaucoma: The Past, Present, and Predictions for the Future. Cureus. 2020 Nov 24;12(11):e11686. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11686. PMID: 33391921; PMCID: PMC7769798.