Dealing with gritty, burning, or watery eyes that don’t get better with drops? You could be experiencing meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), the most common cause of evaporative dry eye disease. At Bochner Eye Institute, we offer LipiFlow, a quick in-office treatment designed to address the root cause of evaporative dry eye.
Led by Medical Director Dr. Raymond Stein, our Toronto, ON, facility features a dedicated Dry Eye Clinic, offering a comprehensive range of dry eye treatments to ensure our patients enjoy comfortable, clear vision. This month, our blog focuses on LipiFlow. Here’s what you should know about this convenient office-based treatment for dry eyes.
Why Dry Eye Can Persist, Even With Drops
Artificial tears can provide short-term relief by wetting your eyes, but they don’t treat the underlying issue.
If a lack of natural tear production causes your dry eyes (aqueous tear deficiency), prescription eye drops like Restasis can help you produce more natural tears and relieve your symptoms.
But, with evaporative dry eye, your tears evaporate too quickly due to a lack of protective oils. The root cause is usually blocked meibomian glands (MGD.) That’s why creating more tears might not be the answer. When your tears evaporate too fast, you need a treatment that prevents it.
How LipiFlow Treatment Works
LipiFlow targets the clogged meibomian glands using a combination of gentle heat and pressure. This helps melt and release the thickened oil blocking the glands. The treatment is comfortable, non-invasive, and only takes about 12 minutes per eye.
With LipiFlow, your cleaned-out meibomian glands can resume normal oil production, ensuring your tears have the proper balance for healthy eye lubrication.
Most patients notice an improvement within a few weeks, with symptom improvement continuing to optimize as the tear film stabilizes by six to eight weeks post-treatment.
Benefits of LipiFlow
Many patients need only one session, although some may need annual treatments to promote continued dry eye symptom relief.
Typical effects of LipiFlow include reduced burning, itching, and eye fatigue. Patients who use eye drops tend to need less of them, less often.
Ultimately, LipiFlow helps many of our patients achieve clearer, more consistent vision, leading to an improved quality of life. Because LipiFlow treats the cause of dry eye rather than just the symptoms, it can help preserve the health of your eyes over the long term.
LipiFlow Dry Eye Treatment in Toronto, ON
At Bochner Eye Institute, we offer LipiFlow to help manage chronic dry eye safely, comfortably, and effectively. Dr. Stein and our experienced team utilizes advanced tools to treat the cause, not just the symptoms, because you deserve long-term relief.
Call our Toronto, ON, office at 416-960-2020 to schedule your LipiFlow consultation.