The smart way to treat dry eye

Article

Insertion of a SmartPlug (Medennium) can be an effective management tool for severe dry eye syndrome.

Insertion of a SmartPlug (Medennium) can be an effective management tool for severe dry eye syndrome, according to a report published in the June issue of Cornea.

Simon Chen and Graham Lee of the University of Queensland, Australia conducted a retrospective chart review of patients undergoing SmartPlug insertion between June 2003 and December 2005.

A total of 91 eyes of 54 patients (44 women and 10 men) were included in the review. The average follow-up period was 13.0±6.0 months, with a minimum of six months. Thirty patients (60.4%) reported using a decreased amount of lubricant eye drops, including nine patients (15.4%) who were altogether free of eye drop use. Forty-one patients (75.8%) reported subjective symptom improvement after insertion of the SmartPlug. Meanwhile, complications included canaliculitis (6.6%), epiphora requiring plug removal (5.5%) and spontaneous plug loss (2.2%).

The study demonstrates that the SmartPlug can be useful in treating severe dry eye but the authors warn that long-term follow-up is required for potentially serious complications such as canaliculitis.

The SmartPlug is available throughout Europe and the US, as well as other countries around the world.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Robert Sergott, MD, describes fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and the International SPECTRALIS Symposium – And Beyond (ISS) in Heidelberg, Germany.
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
Alfredo Sadun, MD, PhD, chief of Ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of California Los Angeles, shared exciting new research with the Eye Care Network during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting on the subject of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).
At this year's Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nitish Mehta, MD, shared highlights from his research documenting real-world results of aflibercept 8 mg for patients with diabetic macular oedema.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.