Our Advanced Dry Eye Treatment Centre Now Open

We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our dry eye treatment offerings, and our new Advanced Treatment Centre is up and running at our Crowfoot location. Dry Eye Disease is extremely common in our arid Southern Alberta climate, and can affect people of all age groups. Lately, we have seen an increase in cases of Dry Eye due to increased use of digital devices. Symptoms of Dry Eye can range from mild irritation to severe debilitating discomfort and even vision impairment. As Dry Eye Disease is a progressive condition, early diagnosis and treatment is essential to reducing its impact over time.

We now offer two exciting new therapies for Dry Eye Disease – IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and Endymed RF (RadioFrequency).

IPL involves the delivery of light energy in short bursts to address many of the mechanisms leading to certain types of Dry Eye Disease. The treatment is applied to the areas around the eyelids and in some cases the eyelids themselves. The effects are described as follows:

· Anti-inflammatory – targets inflammatory processes at the cellular level

· Heat transfer – short, intense bursts of light energy are accompanied by heat which helps address stagnant meibomian glands, remove obstructions and reduce inflammation

· Antimicrobial – most people with Meibomian Gland dysfunction will have a higher than normal microbial concentration in and around the eyelids. These microbes (bacteria and mites) perpetuate the Dry Eye Disease cycle and can be difficult to control with more conservative measures such as lash scrubs done at home

· IPL also changes the Enzymes involved with creating proper tear balance, helping to re-create the proper chemistry to improve the health and stability of your tear film

Endymed Radio Frequency Therapy involves the concentrated delivery of energy in the form of heat to the eyelids and surrounding areas. This treatment has the following benefits:

· Relieve gland obstruction associated with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and allow more free-flowing oil

· Stimulate collagen and elastin within the skin of the eyelid to restore elasticity. (loss of elasticity of the eyelids contributes to dysfunction of the Meibomian Glands)

· RF may be performed as a stand-alone treatment in more mild cases of Dry Eye Disease, in patients who are not candidates for IPL or in combination with IPL if patients have significant obstruction/blockages in their Meibomian Glands

We are looking forward to discussing your condition in more detail at your next eye exam to see if you would benefit from these exciting new therapies. Watch for our next e-newsletter which will feature a short video of Dr. Wilk demonstrating each of these treatments.