Abstract: An implanted pump for artificial tears

This is what happens when I finally get around to cleaning out my email inbox - I find some medline dry eye alerts that I missed the first time. So I've got a few things coming from July (oops).

Case study of an implanted pump resevoir used to treat a patient in an extreme situation. Interesting concept.

Bilateral infusion pump implants as therapy for refractory corneal ulcers in a patient with CREST syndrome: an interdisciplinary approach.
Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Jul;126(7):964-7. Links
De Andrés J, García-Delpech S, Pérez VL, Díaz-Llopis M, Udaondo P, Sánchez MT, Salom D

Internal infusion pumps are implantable and programmable systems that have been widely used for years in the management of chronic pain. During the past few years, these devices have had an increasingly prominent role given the possibility of insulin infusions in patients with diabetes mellitus because they provide patients with higher autonomy in the management of their disease, despite the fact that they are expensive systems and require surgery for implantation. These features make internal infusion pumps a suitable therapeutic option for those patients who need to use artificial tears continuously because of severe dry eyes. We report a case of severe eye pain due to xerophthalmia in a patient with CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia) syndrome who was treated with an implanted pump reservoir.