Bruder Eye Hydrating Compress Added to Our Dry Eye Treatment Regiment

We are excited to now provide the Bruder Eye Hydrating Compress at our Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic.  This microwave-activated compress is easy to use.  After 20-30 seconds in the microwave, patients apply the compress over their closed eyes for several minutes. The moist heat goes to work immediately to help slow tear evaporation.  Patented MediBeads absorb water molecules from the air and release them as clean moist heat.

We have found this to be perfect addition to our post-LipiFlow patients.  After the LipiFlow treatment has effectively removed the old waxy oils, the Bruder mask helps keep the new oils that the eyes produce to remain liquefied.  We provide this mask at no charge to all patients that undergo the LipiFlow procedure.

They can also be purchased at our Pleasant Hill office for $25/each.

 

LipiFlow Successfully Treating Dry Eye

Since introducing the LipiFlow technology and the Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic in September, we have successfully helped over 40 people with dry eye obtain relief.  Our findings mirror what studies found on the national level.  Close to 80% of people are experiencing relief.  The amount of relief truly depends on the amount of gland atrophy found upon evaluation.  The sooner the problem is found and diagnosed, the better the outcome.  Patients with 20-50% atrophy are returning at one month noting improvement of some kind in their dry eye symptoms.  We have treated a few patients with close to 90% atrophy, and at these dry eye workups, we have been very upfront with these miserable patients, that the procedure would benefit in slowing the rate of atrophy, and to try and preserve the 10% remaining glands.  Unfortunately, once these glands die off, they do not grow back. While these patients often do not experience relief, they understand the importance of preserving what remaining glands they have.

Over the last few months, we have seen people from Des Moines, as well as all over Iowa and beyond.
- Jefferson
- Clear Lake
- Knoxville
- Ames
- Marshalltown
- Mount Pleasant
- Indianola
- Kansas City, MO
- Mankato, MN

We are excited to continue helping those with dry eye in the great state of Iowa obtain dry eye relief.

Patient Testimonial #3 and #4

Patient M.V., a 65 year old female presented to us with constant dry eye, her left eye worse then her right.  She found that after many hours on the computer, she would have dry, gritty red eyes, and it made driving home after work difficult.

LipiView tear evaluation revealed a  poor tear film, and that more then 50% of her blinks were partial blinks.  Meibomian gland evaluation revealed that approximately 50% of her glands had atrophied (died) in her right eye, and 70% in her left eye.  The glands that were still patent (alive) were not producing a good quality oil.  It was thick and pasty, similar to toothpaste or candle wax.  We informed her that the procedure would most likely benefit what glands remained.  We were more optimistic about the right eye, but due to the amount of gland atrophy in the left eye, the procedure would be performed essentially to prevent further gland loss, rather then provide significant relief.  M.V. understood and elected to have the procedure.  After the 12 minute procedure, she noticed immediate relief.  We started her on a good triglyceride fish oil twice daily, as well as blinking exercises to improve her blinking patterns.

M.V. returned to us 4 weeks later with a smile on her face.  She noticed less watering throughout the day, especially in her right eye.  She also noticed a decreased amount of the "crusties" in her eyes in the morning.  She did not use as many artificial tears throughout the day, and her eyes felt better at the end of the work day.  She was glad she had done the procedure.

Patient A. W., a 66 year old male, complained of constantly watering eyes.  Throughout the day, his computer vision would blur because he was constantly wiping at his eyes with a tissue to get rid of the water. By evening, it was even worse, and his eyes felt quite fatigued.

LipiView tear evaluation revealed a poor tear film, but his blinks were normal (normal blinking means that each blink is a full blink, where the upper lid completely covers the eye and makes contact with the lower lid).  Meibomian gland evaluation revealed only 25% atrophy both eyes, but the glands were clogged, and oil was not expressed with pressure.  We informed A.W. that we were optimistic, as his blinks were normal, and glands still patent.  The procedure would be beneficial in removing the thick, dried oils, and help promote a healthier, more liquefied oil.  A.W. elected to have the procedure.

A.W. returned 4 weeks later, noting a decrease in watering throughout the day.  He still had some watering upon waking, but this improved significantly throughout the day.  He was able to work more efficiently on the computer with reduced watering, and he was very happy about this.  We had made working on the computer enjoyable again.

Dry Eye Seminars Continue To Be a Success

Novemeber 13th - Another successful dry eye seminar was put on by the doctors of Eye Care of Iowa.

Dr. Matthew Ward and Dr. James Blasco presented information on evaporative dry eye to a group of 16 guests over wine and cheese appetizers.  The doctors shared their own personal struggles with dry eye, and Dr. Bernard Lee had one of his eyes treated in front of the guests. 

The Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic continues to be a success.  At this point, we have been treating evaporative dry eye with the LipiFlow system for 6 weeks, and we have treated 30 patients.  Many of our patients are driving 3-4 hours to have the treatment.  This is really a testiment to that fact that many people have dry eye, and have tried other methods to improve their symptoms, such as artificial tears and gels, warm compresses, doxycycline, Restasis, and other methods that are just not working!  Many of our patients are noticing a huge improvement immediately after the procedure. 

For more information on the next seminar, please call our office at 515-265-5322, and visit our website at eyecareofiowa.com and click on "Dry Eye Treatment"

 Dr. Matthew Ward presenting information on meibomian gland atrophy

Patient Testimonial #2

W.J, a 60 year old gentleman came to Eye Care of Iowa with complaints of significant dryness, more so in his left eye.  Waking up every morning with burning scratching eyes was driving him crazy!  He had tried using drops, which helped for a few minutes, before his eyes would start to water, and that water would often run down his cheek.

LipiView evaluation showed that despite poor oil quality, W.J. had good blinking habits.  Of 6 blinks noted in 30 seconds, only 1 of these blinks was a partial blink. 

Meibomian gland evaluation showed that most of W.J.'s glands were plugged.  There was very little oil released on expression.  Looking at the glands themselves, many of the glands were atrophied.  Dr. Ward concluded that W.J.'s right eye glands were functioning at about 30%.  The left eye was functioning at about 20%

W.J. elected to have the LipiFlow procedure.  Immediately after the 12 minute procedure he noted improvement.

Returning a month later, he informed me that he was extremely happy at the changes he had experienced.  Following our protocol of daily triglyceride fish oils and blink exercises, he noted a drastic decrease in his dryness in the morning hours.  He also had decreased watering.  Dr. Ward expects W.J. to continue to improve over the next few months. 

October 29th Seminar a Success

Last night's dry eye seminar went very well.  Nick, a representative of TearScience, gave a great presentation on evaporative dry eye.  Dr. Blasco, Dr. Ward, and Dr. Lee also provided very useful info and patient testimonials.  Fourteen guests attended the seminar and enjoyed light snacks and wine while the LipiFlow technology was performed on Dr. Blasco.  TearScience was kind enough to provide every patient in attendance with a complimentary LipiView dry eye evaluation certificate to be used sometime this month ($125 value).  Every patient scheduled to come in at some point in the month of November to have their glands evaluated. 

At this point, Dr. Blasco, Dr. Lee and Dr. Ward have all had patients perform the LipiFlow procedure and return very happy.  Again, many people experience a decrease in their dry eyed the day of the procedure. 

Future seminar dates are set for November 12, November 26, and December 10.  Please call 515-265-5322 to RSVP for these events!

Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic Ribbon Cutting Ceremony a Success- October 16th 2013

The official Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic ribbon cutting ceremony was a success!  We were excited to see many familiar faces, as well as some new ones :) Guests snacked on cupcakes from Momma CT's (so good!), and were able to learn more about dry eye, and how the LipiFlow system could help those with dry eye issues due to meibomian gland issues/evaporative dry eye.  Multiple guests shared their own issues with varying levels of dry eye.  Many work on the computer throughout the day, and by the end of the afternoon, most expressed that they experienced at least some amount of dryness and irritation.  Cathy Jensen, executive director of the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce, also spoke briefly on how the LipiFlow procedure has made a difference in her life.  She had the procedure done with Dr. Ward last month, and has found that she has less dryness through the day, and has been VERY happy with the outcome.  Thanks again to everyone that came and showed support.  We very much appreciate it!

   Cutting the Ribbon

Doctors (from Right):  Mark Hanson, OD, Kelly Jansma, OD, Jason Nesheim OD, 

James Blasco, OD, Matthew Ward, OD, and Bernard Lee, OD

Cupcakes from local bakery Momma CT's

Guests learning about the LipiView technology

A great turnout!

Patient Testimonial #1

Patient C.J., a 45 year old female from Pleasant Hill, came to the Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic with complaints of dry, burning eyes, especially at the end of the day.  Her job requires her to travel a lot, but she is ALWAYS on her iPhone, communicating via texts and emails.  When she is in the office, she uses two screens, and often finds herself rubbing her eyes.  She had tried some artificial tear use throughout the day, but they didn't provide sustained relief. 

CJ qualified for LipiFlow, and she decided to proceed with the treatment.

Immediately after, she noted "My eyes feel moist! I haven't felt that in a long time!"

She returned to the clinic two weeks later, with bright white eyes, and a big smile. 

"People keep coming up to me saying, 'Your eyes look so shiny.  They look great! What do you use?'  And I tell them that the LipiFlow procedure has completely changed everything"

What is the LipiView Thermal Pulsation System?

What is the LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System? This short video provides a great introduction to the exciting new understanding of dry eye, and treatment of the cause!

First LipiFlow Seminar a Success!

Two nights ago, Eye Care of Iowa had their first Dry Eye Seminar.  As they sipped on wine from Jasper Winery and indulged on cake balls from Bekkwiths, patients were able to learn more about their dry eye, and how the LipiFlow system might be able to provide them relief.  The resounding consensus among patients was that their current form of treatment was not working.  Interested in attending a seminar yourself? Contact our Pleasant Hill office at 515-265-5322 and ask when the next seminar will be taking place!

Dry Eye Clinic up and running!

We are excited to announce that the Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic is officially up and running. We have now began evaluation of patient with dry eye. We've received a lot of positive feedback! We've been told we are now providing new and exciting information to our patients. Many have seen five or six doctors, who have simply discussed artificial tears or warm compresses.

With the LipiView system, we are able to evaluate the tear film, blink rate, and partial blinks unlike ever before. We continue the visit with an evaluation of the glands themselves, determining how many glands are actually functioning, and what type of oil is being produced. We are also able to evaluate the glands themselves, looking for atrophy due to long term blockage. We conclude with the removal of dead cells on top of the glands, and then discussing the LipiFlow procedure if the patient is a good candidate!

Dr. Blasco works with the LipiView system

Dr. Lee evaluates the meibomian glands

Dr. Ward explains the LipiView testing results with a patient

As seen on TV

But you don't have to take my word for it...

Here are a few other well-respected health care professionals providing more information about the LipiFlow system.

The Doctors - LipiFlow System

My name is Dr. Matthew Ward, and I have been battling dry eye on a personal level for over eight years. It was around my sophomore year of college that I began to notice waking up in the morning with dry, red, eyes. I didn't think too much of it at the time, and thought using one of the over the counter "get the red out" drops would fix the problem, and started using those 4-5 times a day (not a good idea). My eyes soon became even MORE red. After stopping this drop, things got a little better, but every evening around 6:00 pm, my eyes would have a pinkish/red color, and every morning when I woke up, it felt as if someone had rubbed sandpaper across my eyes.

Over the last few years, I had tried almost every pharmaceutical, natural, or home remedy dry eye treatment I could find online.

Below is a list of what I had tried
-Artificial Tears Drops (often 10-12 x day with no relief)
-Lubricating Gels at bedtime
-Steroid drops
 -Restasis
-Warm compress with a hot washcloth and the rice-in-the-sock method
-Lid scrubs
-Fish Oil (3000 mg of triglyceride form)
-Castor Oil (this is part of the liquid vehicle in Restasis. Just leaves a sticky mess)
-Moisture Goggles
-Taping lids shut while sleeping
-Punctal Plugs
-And multiple other things that I am not going to list here, because of how ridiculous they were, and I'm embarrassed to admit I even tried them.

None of these provided much relief. My eyes still felt and looked horrible after 6:00 PM. I tried not to look people in the eye too long when speaking with them, because I knew they would notice the redness. I was unable to wear contacts any longer then three hours, because they began to feel like hard plastic in my eyes.

Then I tried LipiView and LipiFlow

To begin, I had my meibomian glands evaluated. The meibomian glands are the glands that create and secrete the oil that mixes with the watery part of tears, creating a healthy tear film of oil and water. Luckily, I still had a few glands that had not atrophied too far, and were still producing some oils.

The LipiView device, which is a diagnostic tool that helps evaluate the quality and quantity of tears on the front of the eye, showed I had an extremely poor tear film. The tears that I did make evaporated quickly, leaving my eyes dry, raw, and irritated throughout the day. It is scored of 0-100. The higher the number, the better the quality of tears.

A score of 80 of less often indicates some dryness.

I scored 43 in both eyes.

 The LipiView device also helped me to see that when I blink, my blink is not "complete", and is in fact a "partial" blink. That means that my eyes do not close completely upon blinking. Because of this, the important oils that my eyes do make are not being spread across my eye, resulting in daily dryess and gritty sensations. Due to fact that I did have some good oils being produced, some glands that were still processing oils, and a poor reflex blink, I qualified for the LipiFlow treatment.

The LipiFlow procedure consisted of two eye lid expression devices being applied to my eyelids, which generated heat to melt the oils clogging my glands. Next, through gentle pressure, squeezed the glands from both the outside and the inside to express oil. The procedure took about twelve minutes, and was not painful in the slightest.

It is important to note that this procedure is not a "miracle procedure" or "cure-all" for all dry eye patients. I didn't go from having dry eye all the time to suddenly being dryness free and white eyes. I was set up with the realistic expression, that due to my low scores, if we could reduce the dryness to less then 50% of the time (down from 100%), or depending less on artificial tears, then these would indicate a successful treatment. At this point, I was just hoping I achieved SOME relief, having tried everything else on the market with very LITTLE relief.

The treatment at this point has exceeded my expectations.

Upon walking out of the LipiFlow procedure, I noticed an IMMEDIATE difference. It was a windy day, and I remember walking outside, and turning to face the wind.  Normally, this would cause my eyes to slam shut in agony from the dryness of the wind...but I found I could stare wide-eyed into the wind with no problems. Such a simple thing, but take someone who feels dryness every day, and ask them if they know what I'm talking about, and I bet you they do.

It's been about seven weeks since the procedure. Again, I haven't experienced a change from 100% dryness to zero, but I have noticed a considerable decrease in dryness feeling. My eyes are no longer pink at the end of the day. I can look at the computer longer without wanting to rub my eyes out of my head. I wake up and the sand-paper feeling is no longer there. My eyes look and feel better, and that's exactly what I was aiming for.

I am still taking Restasis twice daily, a mild steroid twice daily, and fish oil. I make sure I take in plenty of water, and continue to do blink exercises (more on this later). But I've given up on the artificial tears, warm compress, gel at night, lid taping, and moisture goggles. 

And now I'm excited to be inform you that Eye Care of Iowa has brought this amazing technology into our practice. We are the only office in Iowa in which you will find the LipiFlow procedure. No other optometrist, ophthalmologist, or primary care doctor as of today has this technology. Stay tuned for more information in this excited time as we introduce the Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic.

Matthew Ward, OD
Eye Care of Iowa

Wecome to the Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic Blog

Welcome to the newly launched Eye Care of Iowa Dry Eye Clinic Blog. We are very excited to begin a new journey in the way we treat dry eye, and we encourage you to follow along. Things will really kick off toward the beginning of September. We have recently purchased new diagnostic equipment to help patients with dry eye. Have you tried artificial tears, warm compresses, fish oil, prescription eye drops, lid scrubs, and tapping your lids shut at night, but continue to experience dryness throughout the day? We are excited to bring new technology that may prove to provide you with relief. More to come here in the near future! Until then, stay tuned! - Dr. Matthew Ward, OD