What Is OptiLight By Lumenis & How Can It Manage Your Dry Eye?

What Is OptiLight by Lumenis & How Can It Manage Your Dry Eye?

Dry eye disease is a widespread and common issue for up to 49 million Americans. This chronic condition can have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life, causing a variety of ocular symptoms (such as foreign body sensation, pain, blurry vision, and dry or watery eyes). If left untreated, it can even lead to further eye health complications.

Despite these ongoing symptoms, many dry eye patients are not aware that they’re suffering from dry eye disease or that modern treatments exist. 

At Beverly Hills Optometry, we offer numerous strategies to help you find the relief you need. One of the latest FDA approved treatment options is OptiLight by Lumenis. OptiLight is an innovative, non-invasive intense pulsed-light (IPL) treatment that targets meibomian gland blockages often associated with dry eye disease. 

What Is OptiLight by Lumenis?

OptiLight by Lumenis is a light-based, non-invasive procedure performed in-office by a doctor. OptiLight is the first and only IPL device FDA-approved for the management of dry eye.

The treatment is safe, gentle, and is backed by more than 40 peer reviewed papers.

How Does It Work?

OptiLight uses precise pulses of light to reduce the inflammation that is typically associated with dry eye disease, improves tear break-up time, and increases meibomian gland functionality. 

This application can significantly relieve dry eye indicators and has a multi-factorial effect, including:

• Improve tear break-up time
• Decrease the amount of demodex mites and bacteria living around your eyes
• Alleviate blood vessels that contribute to inflammation
• Restore meibomian gland morphology & functionality

What to Expect 

Before Your Treatment

Before we can recommend a dry eye treatment, our first step is to examine your eyes thoroughly to determine what may be causing your uncomfortable, irritating symptoms.

We design our process to be as thorough as possible, utilizing several different methods that examine your eye health, comfort, and the structures responsible for producing and stabilizing your tear film.

These methods include:

• A standardized dry eye questionnaire (SPEED 2)
• Oculus Keratograph 5M imaging to examine tear meniscus height (tear volume), meibography (gland structure), non-invasive tear breakup time (tear film stability) and ocular surface structure
• Firefly slit lamp exam 
• Vital dye staining
• TearLab tests to measure tear osmolarity

There is no downtime and minimal preparation is needed. Before your OptiLight appointment, we’ll ask you to remove contact lenses and eye makeup during the procedure. 

Patients should expect each OptiLight treatment session to last approximately 30 minutes. Four sessions between 2–6 weeks apart is ideally recommended. Some advanced or more severe patients often benefit initially from 4–8 sessions. We are able to treat the face and/or the eyelids. Manual expression is often performed at 1 or more of the IPL visits. 

During Your Treatment

This treatment is fast and simple. During the treatment your doctor will apply a coupling gel on the treatment area and cover your eyes with either IPl pads or corneal shields.

As light is applied to the skin, you may experience a warm sensation. The treatment is gentle with minimum discomfort. The light therapy itself will only take about 5 minutes.

Following one or more of your IPL sessions, your doctor may manually express your meibomian glands. If the glands are blocked or clogged , then we may recommend other advanced heat treatments such as Lipiflow, iLux, or TearCare during the same visit.

After Your Treatment

There is minimal to no downtime after your IPL treatment. 

In fact, most patients are able to wear their contact lenses, drive, work, and wear makeup almost immediately after their session. However, we commonly ask patients to avoid direct sunlight and wear sunscreen for a few days. 

You may experience temporary redness after your treatment, but this subsides within an hour.

Part of Your Custom Treatment Plan

A course of treatment typically includes 4 sessions spaced 2–6 weeks apart. If you have more severe symptoms, we may recommend 4–8 sessions.

We also offer a variety of other office-based therapeutics and strategies for treating or managing dry eye, some of which we may use in conjunction with your IPL treatment. These include:

• Lipiflow heat therapy
• TearCare heat therapy
• iLux heat therapy
• BlephEx eyelid exfoliation
• ZEST eyelid exfoliation
• ProKera corneal bandage
• RegenerEyes biologic eye drops
• Punctal plugs
• Scleral contact lenses

Will the OptiLight by Lumenis Work for Me?    

While OptiLight by Lumenis is an effective dry eye management solution, we want to make sure it’s right for you. We do not recommend this treatment if you:

• Suffer from only aqueous deficiency dry eye (rather than evaporative dry eye or meibomian gland dysfunction)
• Are currently pregnant
• Have severe scarring or broken skin around your eyes

Ultimately, your doctor is the only person who can determine whether this option is right for you. During your next appointment, ask us if you are a good candidate for OptiLight by Lumenis.

You Don’t Have to Live With Dry Eye Anymore

Dry, irritated eyes can be managed with a new treatment that brings comfort and can restore quality of life. Schedule a consult to get an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan tailored to your needs.

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List of 40+ Peer-Reviewed Studies on IPL and its Benefits for Dry Eye/MGD:

1) Stefania, T., Piergiorgio, T., Beniamino, B. et al. The role of intense pulsed light (IPL) in the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Eur J Plast Surg 42, 563–568 (2019). 

2) Fan Q, Pazo EE, You Y, Zhang C, Zhang C, Xu L, He W. Subjective Quality of Vision in Evaporative Dry Eye Patients After Intense Pulsed Light. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2020 Jul;38(7):444-451. 

3) Wei S, Ren X, Wang Y, Chou Y, Li X. Therapeutic Effect of Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Combined with Meibomian Gland Expression (MGX) on Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). J Ophthalmol. 2020 Apr 13;2020:3684963. 

4) Li D, Lin SB, Zhang MZ, Cheng B. Preliminary Assessment of Intense Pulsed Light Treatment on the Upper Eyelids for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2020 Apr;38(4):249-254. 

5) Tang Y, Liu R, Tu P, Song W, Qiao J, Yan X, Rong B. A Retrospective Study of Treatment Outcomes and Prognostic Factors of Intense Pulsed Light Therapy Combined With Meibomian Gland Expression in Patients With Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Eye Contact Lens. 2021 Jan 1;47(1):38-44. 

6) Wu Y, Li J, Hu M, Zhao Y, Lin X, Chen Y, Li L, Zhao YE. Comparison of two intense pulsed light patterns for treating patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Int Ophthalmol. 2020 Jul;40(7):1695-1705. 

7) Ge J, Liu N, Wang X, Du Y, Wang C, Li Z, Li J, Wang L. Evaluation of the efficacy of optimal pulsed technology treatment in patients with cataract and Meibomian gland dysfunction in the perioperative period. BMC Ophthalmol. 2020 Mar 18;20(1):111.

8) Xue AL, Wang MTM, Ormonde SE, Craig JP. Randomised double-masked placebo-controlled trial of the cumulative treatment efficacy profile of intense pulsed light therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction. Ocul Surf. 2020 Apr;18(2):286-297. 

9) Fishman HA, Periman LM, Shah AA. Real-Time Video Microscopy of In Vitro Demodex Death by Intense Pulsed Light. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2020 Aug;38(8):472-476..

10) Yurttaser Ocak S, Karakus S, Ocak OB, Cakir A, Bolukbasi S, Erden B, Bas E, Elcioglu M. Intense pulse light therapy treatment for refractory dry eye disease due to meibomian gland dysfunction. Int Ophthalmol. 2020 May;40(5):1135-1141. 

11) Piyacomn Y, Kasetsuwan N, Reinprayoon U, Satitpitakul V, Tesapirat L. Efficacy and Safety of Intense Pulsed Light in Patients With Meibomian Gland Dysfunction-A Randomized, Double-Masked, Sham-Controlled Clinical Trial. Cornea. 2020 Mar;39(3):325-332. 

12) Gao YF, Liu RJ, Li YX, Huang C, Liu YY, Hu CX, Qi H. Comparison of anti-inflammatory effects of intense pulsed light with tobramycin/dexamethasone plus warm compress on dry eye associated meibomian gland dysfunction. Int J Ophthalmol. 2019 Nov 18;12(11):1708-1713. 

13) Huang X, Qin Q, Wang L, Zheng J, Lin L, Jin X. Clinical results of Intraductal Meibomian gland probing combined with intense pulsed light in treating patients with refractory obstructive Meibomian gland dysfunction: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Ophthalmol. 2019 Oct 28;19(1):211. 

14) Ruan F, Zang Y, Sella R, Lu H, Li S, Yang K, Jin T, Afshari NA, Pan Z, Jie Y. Intense Pulsed Light Therapy with Optimal Pulse Technology as an Adjunct Therapy for Moderate to Severe Blepharitis-Associated Keratoconjunctivitis. J Ophthalmol. 2019 Sep 16;2019:3143469. 

15) Cheng SN, Jiang FG, Chen H, Gao H, Huang YK. Intense Pulsed Light Therapy for Patients with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Ocular Demodex Infestation. Curr Med Sci. 2019 Oct;39(5):800-809. 

16) Vigo L, Taroni L, Bernabei F, Pellegrini M, Sebastiani S, Mercanti A, Di Stefano N, Scorcia V, Carones F, Giannaccare G. Ocular Surface Workup in Patients with Meibomian Gland Dysfunction Treated with Intense Regulated Pulsed Light. Diagnostics (Basel). 2019 Oct 13;9(4):147. 

17) Toyos R, Toyos M, Willcox J, Mulliniks H, Hoover J. Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Intense Pulsed Light Treatment with Meibomian Gland Expression of the Upper Eyelids for Dry Eye Disease. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2019 Sep;37(9):527-531. 

18) Stonecipher K, Abell TG, Chotiner B, Chotiner E, Potvin R. Combined low level light therapy and intense pulsed light therapy for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction. Clin Ophthalmol. 2019 Jun 11;13:993-999. 

19) Mejía LF, Gil JC, Jaramillo M. Intense pulsed light therapy: A promising complementary treatment for dry eye disease. Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol (Engl Ed). 2019 Jul;94(7):331-336. English, Spanish. 

20) Choi M, Han SJ, Ji YW, Choi YJ, Jun I, Alotaibi MH, Ko BY, Kim EK, Kim TI, Nam SM, Seo KY. Meibum Expressibility Improvement as a Therapeutic Target of Intense Pulsed Light Treatment in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Its Association with Tear Inflammatory Cytokines. Sci Rep. 2019 May 21;9(1):7648. 

21) Vigo L, Giannaccare G, Sebastiani S, Pellegrini M, Carones F. Intense Pulsed Light for the Treatment of Dry Eye Owing to Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. J Vis Exp. 2019 Apr 1;(146). 

22) Li D, Lin SB, Cheng B. Intense Pulsed Light Treatment for Meibomian Gland Dysfunction in Skin Types III/IV. Photobiomodul Photomed Laser Surg. 2019 Feb;37(2):70-76. 

23) Arita R, Fukuoka S, Morishige N. Therapeutic efficacy of intense pulsed light in patients with refractory meibomian gland dysfunction. Ocul Surf. 2019 Jan;17(1):104-110. 

24) Ahmed SA, Taher IME, Ghoneim DF, Safwat AEM. Effect of Intense Pulsed Light Therapy on Tear Proteins and Lipids in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2019 Jan-Mar;14(1):3-10. 

25) Zhang X, Song N, Gong L. Therapeutic Effect of Intense Pulsed Light on Ocular Demodicosis. Curr Eye Res. 2019 Mar;44(3):250-256. 

26) Arita R, Mizoguchi T, Fukuoka S, Morishige N. Multicenter Study of Intense Pulsed Light Therapy for Patients With Refractory Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Cornea. 2018 Dec;37(12):1566-1571. 

27) Seo KY, Kang SM, Ha DY, Chin HS, Jung JW. Long-term effects of intense pulsed light treatment on the ocular surface in patients with rosacea-associated meibomian gland dysfunction. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2018 Oct;41(5):430-435. 

28) Karaca EE, Evren Kemer Ö, Özek D. Intense regulated pulse light for the meibomian gland dysfunction. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2020 Mar;30(2):289-292. 

29) Rong B, Tang Y, Liu R, Tu P, Qiao J, Song W, Yan X. Long-Term Effects of Intense Pulsed Light Combined with Meibomian Gland Expression in the Treatment of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Photomed Laser Surg. 2018 Oct;36(10):562-567. 

30) Yin Y, Liu N, Gong L, Song N. Changes in the Meibomian Gland After Exposure to Intense Pulsed Light in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) Patients. Curr Eye Res. 2018 Mar;43(3):308-313. 

31) Albietz JM, Schmid KL. Intense pulsed light treatment and meibomian gland expression for moderate to advanced meibomian gland dysfunction. Clin Exp Optom. 2018 Jan;101(1):23-33. 

32) Rong B, Tang Y, Tu P, Liu R, Qiao J, Song W, Toyos R, Yan X. Intense Pulsed Light Applied Directly on Eyelids Combined with Meibomian Gland Expression to Treat Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Photomed Laser Surg. 2018 Jun;36(6):326-332. 

33) Liu R, Rong B, Tu P, Tang Y, Song W, Toyos R, Toyos M, Yan X. Analysis of Cytokine Levels in Tears and Clinical Correlations After Intense Pulsed Light Treating Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Am J Ophthalmol. 2017 Nov;183:81-90. 

34) Dell SJ, Gaster RN, Barbarino SC, Cunningham DN. Prospective evaluation of intense pulsed light and meibomian gland expression efficacy on relieving signs and symptoms of dry eye disease due to meibomian gland dysfunction. Clin Ophthalmol. 2017 May 2;11:817-827. 

35) Jiang X, Lv H, Song H, Zhang M, Liu Y, Hu X, Li X, Wang W. Evaluation of the Safety and Effectiveness of Intense Pulsed Light in the Treatment of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. J Ophthalmol. 2016;2016:1910694. 

36) Gupta PK, Vora GK, Matossian C, Kim M, Stinnett S. Outcomes of intense pulsed light therapy for treatment of evaporative dry eye disease. Can J Ophthalmol. 2016 Aug;51(4):249-253. 

37) Vegunta S, Patel D, Shen JF. Combination Therapy of Intense Pulsed Light Therapy and Meibomian Gland Expression (IPL/MGX) Can Improve Dry Eye Symptoms and Meibomian Gland Function in Patients With Refractory Dry Eye: A Retrospective Analysis. Cornea. 2016 Mar;35(3):318-22. 

38) Vora GK, Gupta PK. Intense pulsed light therapy for the treatment of evaporative dry eye disease. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2015 Jul;26(4):314-8. 

39) Toyos R, Briscoe D (2016) The Effects of Intense Pulsed Light on Tear Osmolarity in Dry Eye Disease. J Clin Exp Ophthalmol 7: 619. 

40) Toyos R, McGill W, Briscoe D. Intense pulsed light treatment for dry eye disease due to meibomian gland dysfunction; a 3-year retrospective study. Photomed Laser Surg. 2015 Jan;33(1):41-6. doi: 10.1089/pho.2014.3819. PMID: 25594770; PMCID: PMC4298157.

41) Craig JP, Chen YH, Turnbull PR. Prospective trial of intense pulsed light for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015 Feb 12;56(3):1965-70.