We report the case of a 69-year-old female who underwent a
Baerveldt implant placement for severe-stage
primary open-angle glaucoma and developed a
bacterial infection of the conjunctiva and
abscess of the scleral patch graft with subsequent tube exposure. The
infection was identified 3 weeks postoperatively and a topical
antibiotic was immediately initiated. A concurrent systemic
staphylococcal infection was discovered by an outside physician and oral
cephalexin was initiated. Despite
antibiotic treatment, the conjunctival erosion progressed, and tube revision was required. Culture of the
abscess revealed
coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. As alluded to above, the patient also had multiple
abscesses on the skin that cultured positive for Staphylococcus aureus. To our knowledge, this is the first case in the literature of
coagulase-negative Staphylococcus causing an early postoperative
abscess of the scleral patch graft following
glaucoma drainage device placement.