Ineresting procedure for closed meibomian glands

[soxboy]

Gland expression

I am seeing Dr. Latkany next week and will asked him to do this for me, if he can. I have been suffering with this for about 20 years now. I think I have the Demodex mites, and have started the tea tree treatment yesterday. All lid scrubs however irritate my eyes so much causing pain and redness I usually stop them after 2 or 3 days. I would love to have my glands opened.

[soxboy]

Patent

I found this on a patent website...It was submitted I believe in 2006


Method and apparatus for treating meibomian gland dysfunction Document Type and Number:United States Patent 20070016255 Kind Code:A1 Link to this page:http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20070016255.html Abstract:A method and apparatus for treating gland dysfunction caused by gland obstruction in order to restore the natural flow of secretion from the gland comprises the application of a combination of energy, suction, vibration, heat, aspiration, chemical agents and pharmacological agents to loosen and thereafter remove the obstructive material'.

[Rory]

Can i ask, is it obvious to an examining Dr, whether the patients meibomiam glands are blocked or not? I would love to know if mine are and if they are, I would certainly be interested in any procedure which could unblock them.

[Rebecca Petris]

Can i ask, is it obvious to an examining Dr, whether the patients meibomiam glands are blocked or not? I would love to know if mine are and if they are, I would certainly be interested in any procedure which could unblock them.

This answer depends on the doctor. Personally I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the doctors I know by name that I would absolutely rely on to produce the correct answer to this question.

The problem here (and it sounds as though you've more or less found this out in practice over the years) is that ophthalmologists receive little if any training in this area. A great many of our members have been to 3-5 doctors and received a wide range of answers about the condition of their MGs (most of which are usually "looks OK to me").

I wouldn't be too hard on the doctors about this. They don't get taught, and dry eye in general is an area poorly understood and poorly served by ophthalmology for a number of reasons. Lid margin disease in particular is one of those disease areas that seems to fall down between two areas of medicine (ophthalmology and dermatology). This is - IMO - a common type of problem in Western medicine, which attempts to place artificial boxes around things that may overlap.

[Brighteyes]

Anyone spoken or visited with Dr. Gilwit about this device/procedure?

[odydnas]

Anyone have an update on this?

[Meebo]

Anyone have an update on this?

I spoke to Dr. Daljit Singh via email and asked him about the procedure and thatI had MGD. He said,

"...Clogged glands are easy to diagnose under slit lamp microscope. If they are really blocked, they can be opened with Fugo blade ( a plasma cutting device on a 100 micron steel filament). Hot fomentation melts the secretion and it flows out if there is no blockage. Additionally I prescribe flaxeed oil and Fish oil. And of course teat(r) drops. Nothing else. Vegetables and fruits of all kinds. Physical exercise.
Daljit"

I then asked if it matters if the meibum is hardened in the gland.

" There is nothning to hard for Fugo blade. It removes anythin gin its path."

Interesting concept, but may only make sense for people that are severely closed. I do not think I am going to go for anything liek this right now. A website showed 3 stages of MGD to the point of atrophy. Open, stenosed, closed. I believe I am in a stenosed state.

This web site http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/meibomitis2.htm
states that a treatment may be to use surgical incision to open the glands apparently so oil flows better.

All i know is that i am on a mission to get my MG's working somewhat normally again. I have come to terms with possibly not getting to a TBUT of 10 or more but I would def like to see myself get past 5.

[sazy123]

I spoke to Dr. Daljit Singh via email and asked him about the procedure and thatI had MGD. He said,

"...Clogged glands are easy to diagnose under slit lamp microscope. If they are really blocked, they can be opened with Fugo blade ( a plasma cutting device on a 100 micron steel filament). Hot fomentation melts the secretion and it flows out if there is no blockage. Additionally I prescribe flaxeed oil and Fish oil. And of course teat(r) drops. Nothing else. Vegetables and fruits of all kinds. Physical exercise.
Daljit"

I then asked if it matters if the meibum is hardened in the gland.

" There is nothning to hard for Fugo blade. It removes anythin gin its path."

Interesting concept, but may only make sense for people that are severely closed. I do not think I am going to go for anything liek this right now. A website showed 3 stages of MGD to the point of atrophy. Open, stenosed, closed. I believe I am in a stenosed state.

This web site http://dro.hs.columbia.edu/meibomitis2.htm
states that a treatment may be to use surgical incision to open the glands apparently so oil flows better.

All i know is that i am on a mission to get my MG's working somewhat normally again. I have come to terms with possibly not getting to a TBUT of 10 or more but I would def like to see myself get past 5.

Thanks for that link! this is a great definition of exactly what i think is happening in my case-

# Inflammation of meibomian glands together with meibomian gland dysfunction is commonly seen in patients with acne rosacea.
# Clinical features:

* Lid margin vascular engorgement and stagnantion of meibomian gland secretion.

This is it. Vascular engorgement- 'congestion of blood' causes eyelid swelling, and leads to stagnation of Meibomian gland secretion.

[Meebo]

sazy!

Thanks for that link! this is a great definition of exactly what i think is happening in my case-



This is it. Vascular engorgement- 'congestion of blood' causes eyelid swelling, and leads to stagnation of Meibomian gland secretion.

Hahaha, you are all over my posts sazy, AND I LIKE IT!

It seems that we maybe have a very similiar diagnosis. What even more interesting is that we are are around the same age but you are female and I am male.

We definitely should work together and try to get some more headway on finding ways to manage the rosacea and work towards getting those glands to working properly. I know diet is very important, along with supplementation and exercise. I am debating visiting Dr. Gilwit in FL to see what he has to offer. He has posted about a procedure he uses for clogged glands. Unclogging PLUS managing symptoms may be the start of an answer.

I sent you a PM before writing this, so respond back to me and lets start putting our heads together.

[Missie]

this is amazing! hopefully they don't close again after the procedure

[Ariel]

I called Dr. Dilgit's office and sent him an email. I'm now waiting for his reply.

[Ariel]

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[pbeinetti]

Dr Gilwit

Anyone spoken or visited with Dr. Gilwit about this device/procedure?

I saw Dr Gilwit a couple of years ago and had my meibomian glands expressed. It did take about 5 minutes, and the results were awesome. That's the good news. It lasted about one week. But, as Dr Gilwit says himself, you need to have the procedure done a number of times before it has a lasting effect. I will be seeing both Dr Tseng and Dr Gilwit next week and I'll report back if anyone is interested.

Pete