Warrnambool patients are the first to receive MIGS Hydrus microstents in Victoria

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Today, 2 of our patients became the first to receive a Hydrus Microstent implant in Victoria. The Hydrus is the latest MIGS device to be approved for use in Australia by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration).

MIGS or, Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, is a new class of surgery which is considerably less invasive than traditional glaucoma surgery. The use of microstents and other MIGS procedures has greatly reduced the burden of eye drops in glaucoma sufferers with nearly all patients experiencing a reduction in the need for glaucoma eye drops following this type of surgery and many patients not requiring any drops at all.

The surgery was performed by Dr Vincent Lee at St John of God Health Care in Warrnambool.

The Hydrus is the world’s first intracanalicular scaffold. The device is inserted into the drain of the eye (Schlemms canal) and is designed to open up the channel to allow blocked fluid to flow more freely, thus reducing high eye pressure. The microstent is made from nitinol (a nickel-titanium alloy), which is a well-proven biomaterial used in over 1 million implants in a variety of medical devices to date.  The Hydrus microstent is designed for patients with moderate glaucoma and is performed at the time of cataract surgery. Eye pressure can be expected to decrease by up to 30% and 70% of patients can expect to be free from eye drops after the surgery.

The Hydrus is one of three new MIGS devices made available by the TGA in Australia, the other two being the iStent (for mild to moderate glaucoma and the Xen stent (for moderate to severe glaucoma).

​For further information go to MIGS section in the Glaucoma page or click the button below:

GLAUCOMA