Puncta Plugging and Tear Production
Q: I would be interested in learning more about the puncta plugging… Is there anything online that you would recommend I read to get further background? Are there any potential side effects? One website mentioned there is a 40% of plugs are lost within 6 months of insertion. Is this accurate or something to be concerned about?
A: Just go to our website below. There should be some stuff about punctal plugs and dry eyes. if not we need to add it. but i think we did before
The way to do this is first insert collagen plugs in 1 lower lid as a test. it will dissolve by itself in a week, which means there is absolutely no downside, and you don’t have to remove it. all you do is compare the plugged eye to the non-plugged one, and if it’s less dry it means this would be permanently fixed if you go the ones that don’t dissolve as the next step.
You are right; the “permanent” ones should really be called “semi-permanent” as they typically fall out on their own within a few weeks to months, as they are only held in place by friction. therefore, if these work well, but fall out, i then follow this (and am trying to tell my fellows to do this) with punctal cautery, to permanently decrease the diameter of your lower puncta lumen, thereby decreasing permanently the total outflow, leaving your natural tears around longer, and permanently fixing your dry eyes
The Restasis eye drops are also helpful, as that helps on the production side, so by addressing both sides of the production/outflow equation, and increasing the numerator and decreasing the denominator, we can solve your problem.
