Surgical Versus non Surgical Techniques for Punctal Occlusion as Alternative Methods for Treatment of Dry-eye in Dogs

Abstract

The aim of the study was to describe three alternative methods for treatment of dry-eye in dogs and to determine the most appropriate method for clinical application. These treatments were include, surgical punctal occlusion and non-surgical temporary occlusion using silicon plugs and butyl-cyanoacrylate adhesive solution. It was carried out in two stages, stage I: to evaluate the efficacy of the three techniques in 12 normal dogs, which allocated into three equal groups as follows, silicon plugs (G1), butyl-cyanoacrlate adhesive (G2) and surgical punctal occlusion (G3). Stage II: a clinical study in nine clinical cases affected with dry-eye. The upper and lower puncta were obstructed, and Schirmer tear test I (STTI) values and Jones test were performed before and after carrying out the occlusion technique. Each technique was evaluated twice weekly for 60 days (stage I) and 30 days (stage II). All techniques improved the results of STTI values comparing to their control groups, with persistency period 20-23 days (G1), 12-16 days (G2) and 60 days (G3). The study proved that surgical occlusion was highly successful as permanent method with minimal complications and would be the treatment of choice for unresponsive cases to medical treatment of dry-eye in dogs.