Clinical investigation of extrusion of a new punctal plug(Flex Plug)

摘要

PURPOSE: Punctal occlusion using punctal plugs is very effective for the treatment of tear-deficient dry eye. We compared the newly marketed Flex Plug (FP, Eagle Vision Co., Ltd.) and the Eagle Plug (EP, Eagle Vision Co., Ltd.). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The subjects were patients with severe tear-deficient dry eye who were treated in our dry eye clinic. FP plugs in 8 patients (9 eyes) and EP plugs in 29 patients (35 eyes) were compared during over 4 months of observation with regard to the time until extrusion and the possibility for re-insertion of the plugs. RESULTS: During the 4 months after insertion of the plugs, the EP plugs were extruded from 35 of 51 puncta (68.6%) and the FP plugs were extruded from 4 of 13 puncta (30.8%). In the 35 EP extrusions and in the 4 FP extrusions, re-insertion was possible. The time period until extrusion was longer for FP than for EP. In all cases, for both EP and FP, pyogenic granuloma was not observed. DISCUSSION: The extrusion rate for EP plugs was much greater thanfor FP plugs (68.6% to 30.8%). Pyogenic granuloma was not observed in any instance for both types of punctal plugs.