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Glaucoma Physician

Article | 2026 American Glaucoma Society Meeting

Xen Study Finds Ab Interno and Externo Approaches Equally Effective

Researchers from the University of Illinois College of Medicine found that both approaches reduce IOP, lower medications, and improve visual acuity.

By: Evan Lagouros, MD, Cecilia Canizela, BS
Glaucoma Physician February 23, 2026
At AGS 2026, Cecilia Canizela reported data from a retrospective review of the Xen gel stent showing that both ab interno and ab external approaches lower IOP, reduce medications, and maintain visual acuity. University of Illinois medical students Pranesh Ravichandran and David Wu were also involved in the research, under the direction of Evan Lagouros, MD.

 

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Hi, my name is Cecilia Canizela, BS. I’m a medical student at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, Illinois. I am here at the American Glaucoma Society meeting for the first time.

 

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Here, we presented a poster on a retrospective review of the Xen gel stent (AbbVie), up to 3 years of follow-up. So we were looking at the long-term outcomes for patients, and what we found is that the ab interno and ab externo surgical approaches had equivalent outcomes. They were both successful at reducing number of medications and IOP, and [had] equivalent improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA).* It was important for us to take a look at the longer term, so our follow-up was up to 3 years.

 

This means that there are multiple ways to do the same thing, and that it’s very important for the surgeon to do what they prefer [as] both methods are equivalent. GP

 

*Evan Lagouros, MD, adds: There was no statistical significant difference between ab ex and ab interno at any time point up to 3 years.