Simple surgical punctal occlusion with high frequency radiowave electrosurgery

BackgroundTo introduce and evaluate the efficacy of a simple punctal occlusion technique for dry eye patients.MethodsMedical records of 79 eyes from 40 patients refractory to common dry eye conservative treatment who underwent multiple high-frequency radio-wave electro-punctal occlusion were retrospectively reviewed. Pre- and post-procedural ocular surface indices (Schirmer test, tear break-up time (TBUT), and corneal staining grade (Oxford scheme)) and subjective symptom scores (including frequency of artificial tear use, interval between procedures, and total repeat time) were analyzed.ResultsAverage Schirmer test result was significantly (P < 0.05) improved from 4.10 +/- 1.39 mm to 8.14 +/- 3.13 mm at 6 weeks after the procedure (n = 79). A total of 32 eyes from 16 patients underwent repeated procedure with a mean interval of 8.00 +/- 4.86 months, while 24 patients had a single procedure. Twenty-five of 30 patients showed improvement for subjective symptom scores. No complications related to the procedure were observed.ConclusionsA simple, less-invasive punctal occlusion technique using a fine-needle tip with high-frequency radio-wave could significantly relieve subjective symptoms and improve ocular surface indices of patients with aqueous deficient dry eye without causing a major complication. This procedure may play a considerable role in treating dry eye refractory to common practices.