I have really mixed feelings about Lipiflow. I love seeing the new innovations springing and at the same time I always seem to find myself gritting my teeth.
More effective than other methods? Probably.
How many patients cannot get sufficient improvement to MGD with other treatments? Dunno.
Pricing? Absolutely scary.
How much symptomatic relief and for how long? Probably all over the map based on what I've heard so far.
If they can make it work financially while using it on people who actually truly need it, great. One of my worries about this sort of thing is that the high-dollar treatments for the most part attract the desperate people who often have quite complex cases whose symptoms are probably not exclusively attributable to blocked MGs.
TearScience Announces First U.S.-Based Eye Care Practice, Carolina Vision Center, to Offer LipiFlow(R) Treatment
More effective than other methods? Probably.
How many patients cannot get sufficient improvement to MGD with other treatments? Dunno.
Pricing? Absolutely scary.
How much symptomatic relief and for how long? Probably all over the map based on what I've heard so far.
If they can make it work financially while using it on people who actually truly need it, great. One of my worries about this sort of thing is that the high-dollar treatments for the most part attract the desperate people who often have quite complex cases whose symptoms are probably not exclusively attributable to blocked MGs.
TearScience Announces First U.S.-Based Eye Care Practice, Carolina Vision Center, to Offer LipiFlow(R) Treatment
MORRISVILLE, N.C., Oct 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- TearScience, Inc., a privately-held medical device company, today announced that Fayetteville, North Carolina-based Carolina Vision Center, is the first eye care center in United States to commercially offer the LipiFlow(R) Thermal Pulsation System, a breakthrough treatment for evaporative dry eye disease. TearScience's LipiFlow is designed to address meibomian gland dysfunction, allowing for the treatment of eyelid gland blockages during a non-invasive procedure administered at an eye care office. Opening the blocked eyelid glands allows the glands to resume the natural production of lipids (oils) needed for a healthy tear film. TearScience received U.S. FDA clearance for its LipiFlow(R) medical device on June 28, 2011.