Abstract: Smartplugs & canaliculitis

Maybe I'm hypersensitive because of all the people I know personally with SmartPlug complications, but if I read one more report like this I'm going to be seriously tempted to start calling them DumbPlugs.

Incidentally... I never knew that there was a "relatively large number of [Mycobacterium chelonae] infections associated with laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis and other forms of refractive surgery". Hm.

Mycobacterium chelonae canaliculitis associated with SmartPlug use.
Fowler AM, Dutton JJ, Fowler WC, Gilligan P.
Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg. 2008 May-Jun;24(3):241-3.

Mycobacterium chelonae is ubiquitous in the environment but is an uncommon cause of ocular and periocular infections. It is a pathogen that has been gaining increased attention in the ophthalmic literature because of the relatively large number of infections associated with laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis and other forms of refractive surgery. The authors present 3 patients who developed canaliculitis culture positive for M. chelonae more than a year after SmartPlug placement. These cases highlight some of the clinical scenarios that may be encountered in those who present with canaliculitis with a history of intracanalicular plug placement. Therapeutic considerations are also suggested.