[Comparison of extrusion rate for two different design of punctal plugs].
OBJECTIVE
Punctal occlusion using a silicone plug is an effective treatment for severe tear-deficient dry eye. At present, plugs from two companies are available in Japan [Eagle plug(EP); Eagle Vision, Punctal plug(PP); FCI]. We compared the extrusion rate between EP and PP in our dry eye clinic.


METHODS
Subjects were 20 eyes of 18 patients for EP [5 eyes from 5 males, 15 eyes from 13 females, age: 58.1 +/- 17.5(mean +/- standard deviation)] and 76 eyes of 51 patients for PP (6 eyes from 5 males, 70 eyes from 46 females, age: 58.6 +/- 13.4), 62 eyes from 44 patients with Sjögren syndrome, 34 eyes from 25 patients with non-Sjögren syndrome with severe tear-deficient dry eye treated for the period of November 1996 to February 2002 in our dry eye clinic. We compared the extrusion rate for each plug and necessity of reinsertion of the plug.


RESULTS
In the examination for EP, 72.2% plugs were extruded during the follow-up periods, and the average period(59 days) until the extrusion was significantly shorter than for PP(p < 0.0001). In the examination for PP, 55.9% were extruded, and the average period until the extrusion was 287 days. Significant improvement of corneal epithelial damage was seen with PP after insertion of the plug. For the PP, reinsertion of plugs was sometimes impossible, probably because of the granulation formed inside the canaliculus, while for EP, reinsertion of the plugs was possible for all cases.


CONCLUSIONS
EP becomes extruded more easily than PP, and PP is seems for to form granulation more easily.
Nishii
Masakazu
M
Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajii-cho Hirokouji-agaru, Kawaramachi-dori, Kamigyou-ku, Kyoto 602-0841, Japan.
Yokoi
Norihiko
N
Komuro
Aoi
A
Sugita
Jiro
J
Nakamura
Yo
Y
Kojima
Kentaro
K
Kinoshita
Shigeru
S
D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012828:Silicones; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000628:therapy
D012828:Silicones