MG probing - are there any risks?

[Susie28]

Hi there,
I have an appointment for MG probing in 2 months. I think this procedure could help me a lot because I have clogged meibomian glands and severe blepharitis.
But I'm also afraid of the risks of these procudure... What could happen in the worst case?
Is the worst case to get no improvement? This would be sad (I have to pay 300 Euro for MG probing), but that would be ok for me.
But is there any danger that my eyes become damaged? That my DES become worse???
Would do you think?

[cristiandryeyes]

Look, I don't know Prof. Gred personally but I have read a lot of works from him and considering what he has done (ex. gland salivary transplanting), MG probing should be easy for him. I don't know how desperate you are, if I had a doctor in my own country, I wouldn't doubt about it. Best wishes!

[Susie28]

Thank you for your encouraging post:-)
Of course I'll do the probing. I need a improvement of my symptoms. Nothing has helped yet.
But perhaps Prof. Geerlig won't do the probing by himself? He is so busy all the time and there are a lot of junior doctors at the clinic who aren't that busy... I think the probing takes about 1 hour, I don't know if Prof. Geerling has so much time left.... Would you do the probing if it would be done by a junior doctor...? I'm quite insecure.
Are there no doctors who can do this procedure in your country? Perhaps you must spend your next holidays in Germany:-)

[cristiandryeyes]

Thank you for your encouraging post:-)
Of course I'll do the probing. I need a improvement of my symptoms. Nothing has helped yet.
But perhaps Prof. Geerlig won't do the probing by himself? He is so busy all the time and there are a lot of junior doctors at the clinic who aren't that busy... I think the probing takes about 1 hour, I don't know if Prof. Geerling has so much time left.... Would you do the probing if it would be done by a junior doctor...? I'm quite insecure.
Are there no doctors who can do this procedure in your country? Perhaps you must spend your next holidays in Germany:-)

Susie, I can't wait until holidays,...trust me if you have success with this Dr. I'm gonna see him myself as soon as possible. I can't tolerate the pain anymore. So of course I really deserve you get better, I don't think Dr Gerd could rely on a junior Dr to perform this procedure, too risky unless this junior has been trained by him and he is totally sure he has enough experience.
In any case if Dr. Gerd is not performing the procedure at least he should be supervising it. You should pay attention, if this guy looks too insecure ask Dr. Gerd to perform it, you are paying 300 euro which is a lot of money and more important your glands should not be damaged.

The good thing is that they perform it one eye at a time, so maybe they can hurt one eye but not both of them (just joking )

You're gonna be ok, I will pray for you.

[Susie28]

Hi Christian,
okay, now I'm conviced:-) Thanks a lot for your nice post.
So you are going to travel to Germany to get the MG probing? Hey I'll recommend you to get an appointment as soon as possible because you have to wait very long for an appointment especially when you're a new patient. (I had to wait nearly 3 months for mine, new patients must wait longer)
I'll post here when the procedure is done! Hope it will help us!

[cristiandryeyes]

Hi Christian,
okay, now I'm conviced:-) Thanks a lot for your nice post.
So you are going to travel to Germany to get the MG probing? Hey I'll recommend you to get an appointment as soon as possible because you have to wait very long for an appointment especially when you're a new patient. (I had to wait nearly 3 months for mine, new patients must wait longer)
I'll post here when the procedure is done! Hope it will help us!

Now that I think, it is gonna be hard that I receive the probing in my first appointment. Do you know if he needs to check me first and then he needs a second appointment to do the probing ? I was thinking in doing it in one day only, arrive early in Germany, see Dr. in the afternoon and leave Germany at night. Maybe if I explain my situation....oh

The question is, once I had my first appointment, how long does it take to make a second appointment? a month? I can't stay one month in Germany (I don't even know the language).

Well, sus, just a few more days huh ? Hopefully your last days of MGD

[Susie28]

Don't worry, I know another person who got a MG probing appointment by Prof. Geerling as a completly new patient. She arranged with Prof. Geerling that he'll examine her eyes and if she is a good candidate for the probing she'll get the probing straigt after the examination. That's no problem.
If you are from Spain I think you pay all the examinations by yourself, right? I don't think that your insurance company pays for examinations in foreign countries, does it? Then it will be easy anyway. Only people who let the German insurance company pay for their examinations have to wait a long time to get an appointment. (Because then the doctors don't get so much money - our insurance companys are very saving) Self-payers are always preferred. That's the German system;-)
Before you phone the clinic to get an appointment I would recommend you to write to Prof. Geerling personally first. He is very helpful and fast in answering.
And don't be afraid, you don't have to speak German. Prof. Geerling speaks English fluently (I heard him speaking when Ken Pullum was in Würzburg) and most of the other German people are able to speak some English, too:-)
Good luck!!

[cristiandryeyes]

Don't worry, I know another person who got a MG probing appointment by Prof. Geerling as a completly new patient. She arranged with Prof. Geerling that he'll examine her eyes and if she is a good candidate for the probing she'll get the probing straigt after the examination. That's no problem.
If you are from Spain I think you pay all the examinations by yourself, right? I don't think that your insurance company pays for examinations in foreign countries, does it? Then it will be easy anyway. Only people who let the German insurance company pay for their examinations have to wait a long time to get an appointment. (Because then the doctors don't get so much money - our insurance companys are very saving) Self-payers are always preferred. That's the German system;-)
Before you phone the clinic to get an appointment I would recommend you to write to Prof. Geerling personally first. He is very helpful and fast in answering.
And don't be afraid, you don't have to speak German. Prof. Geerling speaks English fluently (I heard him speaking when Ken Pullum was in Würzburg) and most of the other German people are able to speak some English, too:-)
Good luck!!

Thank you sus, now I just need you to tell me that you are REALLY better after probing, that will encourage me to go all the way to Germany...although there is still a small chance someone here in Spain is performing it...I will talk to me DE specialist in March to confirm.

[Susie28]

Hi christian,
hm then you have to wait until the end of march, when I have my probing appointment.
I would recommend you to arrange your appointment before I get mine because of the long waiting time. You can still quit your appointment, if the procedure won't improve my drye eye condition...
By the way I wrote to Prof. Geerling a few days ago and asked him if he is going to do the procecure by himself and if there are any risks. I'm very curious what he is going to answer. But I'm also insecure what I'm going to do if he writes that a junior doctor will do the probing and there are a lot of risks... We will see

[stephgurl1986]

Has Dr. Geerling replied yet? Is he doing the procedure by himself? What did he say about the risks?

I hope I'm a good candidate for the probing. I have an appointment on March 1st...

[beatles116]

probing

my question about probing is this.....some of the video ive seen shows bleeding, if it bleeds theny why when it heal not scar up and cause a bigger problem than one had going into the procedure......i guess if all they hit was oil gunk there wouldnt be...but is this the case???????

[Marcus from Scandinavia]

MG probing

Hi

I also have blepharitis with clogged melbomian glands. I've just found out about the new method of treatment (probing the melbomian glands).

Does anyone know if Germany is the only place in europe where you could get this procedure??

My MGD and blepharitis makes my eyes red with white discharge in the mornings...

The effect of warm compresses and lid massage are slight.

[Susie28]

Marcus from Scandinavia I think you can order the probe for the procedure from some companies (I don't know which company sells it in Scandinavia) and then you can try to find a doctor who is going to do the probing. You don't have to travel to Germany.

Meanwhile Prof. Geerling has answered my questions about possible complications:
He mentioned 3 compliactions:
1. tissue bleeding
2. The probe could break during the procedure
3. pain during the procedure
But all these complications haven't inscrease DES-problems yet.

That sounds promising, but I'm still insecure. My eyes are very good at the moment (for nearly 3 months now), so why sould I do a risky unexperienced procedure? I can live with my actual eye condition. I only have problems in air conditioned or heated rooms, but for that issue, I got a pair of beautiful MEGs yesterday.
Of course, I would be glad if my eyes improve and if I mustn't wear moisture chamber goggles in air conditioned rooms. But I'm also afraid of the probing because this procedure is still new...

I'm very curious what stephgurl is going to post after her probing!

[Marcus from Scandinavia]

MG probing and IPL

Thank you...

I think probing the MGs would be a suitable procedure for me.. but im also interested in the IPL treatment.

Does anyone know if that procedure is available anywhere in europe?

[Susie28]

I got the probing today

Today I got the MG probing in Würzburg/Germany. Prof. Geerling wasn't there (although I had a appointment with him!!), but a very experienced junior doctor did it. He seemed to be very secure, I wasn't afraid during the procedure. But it was very, very painful!!! The probing took about 45 minutes and every prick caused awful pain:-(
There are no side effects I think. My eyes are quite normal. But there is no immediate improvement right now. Perhaps the improvement will come when my eyes get some recovery from the poking...