What Are Punctal Plugs?

Also known as tear dots, tear holes. The lacrimal duct openings above the upper and lower eyelid marginal papillae are round or slightly oval-shaped small hole-like structures. One up and down on each side, called upper punctum and lower punctum respectively. Punctal diameter is 0.2-0.3 mm, and it increases with age. The upper punctum is 6 mm outside the medial condyle, and the lower punctum is 6.5 mm outside the medial condyle. The upper punctum opening opens downward and backward, and the lower punctum opening opens upward and backward. The punctum is kept open because it is surrounded by a dense fibrous tissue ring, and the fibrous tissue is connected to the eyelid; the fibrous tissue is surrounded by orbicularis orbicularis fibers, which have sphincter function. Elderly people, due to atrophy of the orbicularis orbicularis muscle fibers around the eye, the tear papillae become more prominent, and the puncta also increases. In the physiological state, the opening of the punctum just joins the bulbar conjunctiva to facilitate the absorption of tear fluid. If the punctum valgus or atresia due to inflammation, scarring, etc., will often shed tears, clinically known as lacrimal overflow.

Also known as tear dots, tear holes. The lacrimal duct openings above the upper and lower eyelid marginal papillae are round or slightly oval-shaped small hole-like structures. One up and down on each side, called upper punctum and lower punctum, respectively. Punctal diameter is 0.2-0.3 mm, and it increases with age. The upper punctum is 6 mm outside the medial condyle, and the lower punctum is 6.5 mm outside the medial condyle. The upper punctum opening opens downward and backward, and the lower punctum opening opens upward and backward. The punctum is kept open because it is surrounded by a dense fibrous tissue ring, and the fibrous tissue is connected to the eyelid; Elderly people, due to atrophy of the orbicularis orbicularis muscle fibers around the eye, the tear papillae become more prominent, and the puncta also increases. In the physiological state, the opening of the punctum just joins the bulbar conjunctiva to facilitate the absorption of tear fluid. If the punctum valgus or atresia due to inflammation, scarring, etc., will often shed tears, clinically known as lacrimal overflow.

Chinese name

Tears

Also known as

Lacrimal glands and lacrimal nipples

Secretory organ

Lacrimal gland

Function

Protect eye health

Tears of tears

Dry eye

Artificial tears and punctal embolism are the two main treatments for dry eyes. We compared and evaluated the similarities and differences in the visual function and tear film function improvement of the two treatment methods through a number of clinical observations. First, we found through questionnaires that both artificial tears and punctal emboli can improve the symptoms of ocular discomfort in patients with dry eyes, and there is no significant difference between the two. Secondly, all patients with corneal fluorescein staining in both groups were cured after treatment, which indicates that both treatments can effectively repair corneal damage. The complete corneal epithelium is the basis for the normal function of the tear film. Both treatments can effectively repair corneal damage, improve the ocular surface environment, maintain a smooth corneal surface, and provide a basic guarantee for normal vision. Thirdly, the BUT results showed that the BUT time in both groups was significantly longer than before treatment. The punctum embolism group had a better effect on stabilizing the tear film than the artificial tear group. And the distribution is still poor, it takes longer observations to draw further conclusions. The previous literature reported that after the use of punctal embolism, SIT significantly increased and the stability of the tear film improved significantly, which is consistent with the results of this study. Finally, according to the results of the contrast sensitivity examination, the contrast sensitivity of the two groups of dry eye patients after treatment was significantly improved compared with that before treatment, indicating that both methods can improve the visual function of patients. However, in terms of improvement, due to different changes in missing values in each group, the sample size is unstable, and it cannot be directly derived from statistical data which group of treatments is superior in improving contrast sensitivity. However, the proportion of missing values in the punctal embolism group was less than that in the drug treatment group, which indirectly reflects the superiority of the efficacy of the punctal embolism group, which is consistent with the restoration of the tear film to a stable and durable tear film.