Westborough, MA January 27, 2013—Keamy eye & Laser Centre a full service eye care center, today announced that it is the first in the local community to introduce a new treatment for patients who suffer from Evaporative Dry Eye disease. This disease stems from a deficiency in the oily lipid layer of the eye’s natural tear film. The oily lipids serve as a protective layer so that the aqueous (water) layer of the eye’s tear film does not evaporate. KEAMY EYE & LASER CENTRE has introduced a new, advanced in-office treatment, called LipiFlow®, which is intended to treat patients with blocked meibomian glands, called meibomian gland dysfunction, by unblocking the glands and allowing them to resume the secretion of oily lipids needed for a healthy tear film.
Dry eye disease affects 23 million people in the United States. Of those, 65 percent suffer from Evaporative Dry Eye. Common symptoms of dry eye include dryness, grittiness, soreness, irritation, burning and eye fatigue. These symptoms can hinder people’s daily activities such as reading, using the computer, wearing contact lenses and being outdoors on windy days. Many dry eye patients complain those symptoms worsen throughout the day. “Dry eye disease is one of the most common topics patients discuss when visiting eye care professionals,” said Jean Keamy, MD at Keamy EYE & LAser Centre. “We are very pleased to introduce the new LipiFlow treatment to help those patients who are very frustrated with this chronic disease and all of the ways it negatively impacts their lives. In effect, LipiFlow helps the meibomian glands resume their natural function and many patients note symptom relief.”
Historically, common therapies aimed at dry eye symptom relief included using warm compresses, over- the-counter wetting drops and ointments, and prescription drugs. Alternatively, the new LipiFlow treatment addresses the root cause of evaporative dry eye by unblocking the meibomian glands that secrete oily lipids. In controlled clinical studies of patients who received a single LipiFlow treatment, the average meibomian gland score at 4 weeks increased by two to three times over the baseline condition, which reflects improvement in the number of glands secreting and secretion quality. Additionally, at four weeks after the LipiFlow treatment, 79% of patients reported improvement in dry eye symptoms.
“My eyes burn and feel tired as the day progresses. Artificial tears only provide short-term relief. Dr. Keamy suggested that we see if I would be a good candidate for the Lipiflow procedure. I was glad to be a candidate and to have an option. I had the Lipiflow in the office and found it to be relatively comfortable and quick, less than 30 minutes. My eyes felt a little better right after treatment. I had my procedure yesterday, and my eyes feel better today. I was told having an immediate response is not common, but I am hopeful that my eyes will continue to feel this good.” reports a recent patient Patti M.