I need help determining if my local opthalmologist's IPL treatment is worth trying

[Guest]

On their website, it says they use "broad band light (BBL) through the Skintyte II by Sciton".
Is this appropriate equipment for IPL treatment for MGD? I have no idea what the above means.
I plan to call them to ask a bunch of questions, but wanted to know what all of you think.

[deep_dry_eye]

I have MGD and I do monthly-IPL. I believe IPL helps, there is also published literature that IPL helps MGD. It is unclear the exact mechanism of action of IPL, but it is theorized to be able to reduce inflammation.

[hopeful_hiker]

I have MGD and I do monthly-IPL. I believe IPL helps, there is also published literature that IPL helps MGD. It is unclear the exact mechanism of action of IPL, but it is theorized to be able to reduce inflammation.

Oh wow. I have never had of this regimen, usually people do 4 monthly and then one per year as a follow up. Do you find if you skip a month it gets worse?

I had one session so far and it was quiet painful.

[deep_dry_eye]

Oh wow. I have never had of this regimen, usually people do 4 monthly and then one per year as a follow up. Do you find if you skip a month it gets worse?

I had one session so far and it was quiet painful.

I don't have strong evidence that skipping 1 month has a negative effect. What I do know is evidence that IPL can help reduce inflammation (a lot of published literature), anecdotally, my dry eye clinic has two drs who have MGD and doing monthly-IPL on themselves, one of them experienced minor amounts of tissue growth. If you chat around drs w/ IPL, there is some small evidence of minor tissue growth across patients. The theory is that IPL can help reduce inflammation, and once the inflammation has been reduced, your glands can regrow.

[hopeful_hiker]

<...>anecdotally, my dry eye clinic has two drs who have MGD and doing monthly-IPL on themselves, one of them experienced minor amounts of tissue growth. If you chat around drs w/ IPL, there is some small evidence of minor tissue growth across patients.

Fascinating!

diginary

I am currently going through the treatment myself, I hope it works for me. I was told to do 4 IPLs and follow that with Lipiflow. I have normal oils, some gland loss, and blocked gland openings plus medium inflammation (measured by Inflammadry). IPL is a fairly common treatment for MDG and ocular rosacea (that I also apparently have).

Now, the main thing for me is retina and eye protection. My doctor uses corneal shields, for instance. Make sure your doctor is careful.

[deep_dry_eye]

Fascinating!

diginary

I am currently going through the treatment myself, I hope it works for me. I was told to do 4 IPLs and follow that with Lipiflow. I have normal oils, some gland loss, and blocked gland openings plus medium inflammation (measured by Inflammadry). IPL is a fairly common treatment for MDG and ocular rosacea (that I also apparently have).

Now, the main thing for me is retina and eye protection. My doctor uses corneal shields, for instance. Make sure your doctor is careful.

Yes, cornea shields. Its really all experimental tbh, my latest meibography doesnt show any tissue growth, but showed structural improvements (i.e., less inflammation). This is after 6x IPL and BID Xiidra and BID Restasis. My theory is that if you can remove blockages AND reduce inflammation (whether thru drugs or IPL or probing), then there is a chance for your body to heal itself and regrow tissue.