can cautery reopen due to warm compress & massage?

[jenny2008]

ok so i had cautery and it reopened within 2 weeks-then i had it again and i swear it is starting to reopen--i have felt so great the past 2 weeks but it seems after 3 weeks of having my 2nd procedure it is reopening.. i am going to my doc thurs--he said massage could cause it to reopen but i was told to go ahead with the massage 4 days after the procedure..

has anyone else had cautery reopen due to the warm compress/massage technique? maybe i am pushing to hard near where the tear duct was ??? or has anyone who had cautery skip the massage and if so for how long?? thanks.. its just that if i have to get this a 3rd time in this short of time period i dont want to mess things up... ughhh!!!

[Trac]

I cannot answer your question, but I have a question for you. Did you have plugs before you got your ducts cauterized? If so was there a big difference between the plugs and the cautery? I have plugs in all 4 ducts but my doctor wants to cauterize, he says that way nothing will leak by. The plugs don't bother me and seem to help, or at least it is worse when they were not in. I don't want to do anything so permanent. But if it really makes a difference I will consider it. Also, I don't use warm compresses very often and I have never heard of massaging. Can you give me some information on those? I am sorry to take your thread in another direction but I certainly could use your expert advice.

[jenny2008]

well for me the cautery takes about 10 days to get over the soreness from it-and then i felt great-i used to have an upper plug where i had cauterized but it kept falling out-as far as moisture-no i really dont have more from cautery then i did from the plug... i just opted for cautery because the plug kept coming out but now i keep having to redo surgery which is almost worst!!! as far as moisture though they are about the same-i had an umbrella style plug... for me those keep the moisture in--the intracellular dont really help me..

[spmcc]

was there a big difference between the plugs and the cautery? .

Over 16 years of DE, I've had tons of plugs (all types) and a bunch of cauteries (9 times - sometimes lowers only, sometimes uppers only, most recently, all four (done twice)).

I don't know why, but cautery is better for me (except that it keeps re-opening!).

I wish I could figure out the answer to both questions - why cautery is better and why it keeps opening.

[jenny2008]

SPMCC-DO YOU ALSO DO THE WARM COMPRESS AND MASSAGE? just curious... since your's keeps re-opening too! thanks!!

[spmcc]

SPMCC-DO YOU ALSO DO THE WARM COMPRESS AND MASSAGE? just curious... since your's keeps re-opening too! thanks!!

I have rosacea/ocular rosacea and heat kills my face/lids. So, no, I do not use warm compresses or massage. I leave my lids alone (which you think would keep my puncta closed!).

My theory is that the action of blinking, which is supposed to wash tears into your canaliculi, puts so much pressure on the scar area caused by cautery that it just re-opens.

I've had my cauteries open up within 24 hours, weeks, or months. But, for me, they never seem to last longer than 2 months. That's why I had one sutured shut (fingers crossed!).

[jenny2008]

wow.. thanks for your great reply! keep me posted on the suture... i will havfe to ask my doc about that.. how long ago did u have that done? private message me if u wish.thanks... glad to hear i am not the only one.. but sorry you have to go through all this too..