Patent ID: 8486000

Claim:
An ocular pressure spike shunt for insertion into an ocular paracentesis incision port following ocular surgery, comprising a flexible fluid transfer tube formed of biocompatible material so as to allow paracentesis incision closure around said tube, having a distal region on an inner surface of a cornea and a proximal end on an outer surface of the cornea, a tubular portion having a lumen, the tubular portion disposed between said distal region and said proximal end to allow fluid communication through said tube, wherein said distal region and proximal end both have an enlarged diameter relative to a diameter of a central section of said shunt, and wherein said distal region is cone-shaped such that the diameter of the distal region gradually reduces moving in a distal direction and a distal-most end of the distal region is curved, said lumen containing a slit valve for controlling pressure in the eye following ocular surgery, which valve opens permitting fluid flow through said tube when a predetermined pressure is exceeded, said shunt being configured such that on insertion into a paracentesis port said proximal end is flush with the outer surface of the cornea and a portion of the enlarged diameter of the distal region is positioned flat against the inner surface of the cornea, and said distal region opens into the anterior chamber of the eye, wherein the tube is removable from the eye, the proximal end having a foldable plate that lies flush with the surface of the cornea when the pressure spike shunt is implanted, the foldable plate being perpendicular to the tubular portion, wherein the ocular pressure spike shunt, including the foldable plate, is foldable to a diameter of 1.5 mm or less.