Am J Ophthalmol. 2007 Jul 11; [Epub ahead of print]
Horwath-Winter J, Thaci A, Gruber A, Boldin I.
This was a study of 95 silicone punctal plugs by FCI Ophthalmics.
RESULTS: The retention rate of the plugs was 84.2% after three months, 69.5% after one year, and 55.8% after a median of two years (range, 17 to 93 months). No infection was observed, but granulomatous formation occurred in three eyes (one with extrusion, two with intrusion). Three plugs had to be removed for local discomfort or epiphora, and one piece of a broken plug intruded. Canalicular stenosis after spontaneous loss occurred in 14.3% after three months, in 26.9% after one year, and in 34.2% after a median of two years.
Patients reading this, please bear in mind we're talking about punctal plugs, i.e. the ones that sit on the surface, not the ones shoved all the way in the cannaliculi.
Nothing surprising about the results. But given the high chances of losing plugs, we advise anyone considering getting plugs to first confirm with their doctor's office what the charge is (if any) for replacing lost plugs within the first year.
1 comment:
These numbers seem to be consistant with my own punctal plug experience. Occasionally they need to be removed for comfort reasons. I've never seen them become infected or granulomatous reactions from them (mentioned complications in this article).
If anyone who is not familiar with what these plugs look like, you might be interested in watching this short punctal plug video I found:
Punctal Plug Video
Great website, by the way!
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