38 EyeWorld Asia-Pacific | March 2025 CORNEA We are fortunate to be practicing during a time with so many dry eye treatment options available to help our patients. Within the past year alone, we have added several new therapies targeting specific types of dry eye disease, including Demodex blepharitis and evaporative disease. As cornea specialists, we often must put on our detective caps to determine the specific etiologies of a patient’s ocular surface disease. There is surely no “magic bullet,” and it more often than not takes a multi-therapy approach to address the many facets of a patient’s dry eye syndrome. The more tools in the toolbox, the better we can tailor individual treatments for these complex patients. I am excited to have two phenomenal cornea and dry eye specialists, Elvia Canseco, MD, and Shaily Shah, MD, share their early personal experiences and thoughts on several of these new options with the greater YES community. —Mina Farahani, MD, YES Connect Editor by Ellen Stodola, Editorial Co-Director Expanded Treatment Options In Dry Eye Previous issues of EyeWorld have discussed dry eye in detail, including the many options available for treatment and management. It continues to be an important topic because of the many patients impacted and different ways it can present. In this issue’s YES Connect column, Elvia Canseco, MD, and Shaily Shah, MD, highlight some of the newer treatment options in the dry eye armamentarium and how they are handling dry eye in their practice, including how they have updated their approach with experience. Demodex blepharitis in a patient evident while looking down on slit lamp exam; notice collarettes and misdirected lashes. Source: Elvia Canseco, MD Dr. Canseco frequently manages dry eye in her practice. “In my practice, dry eye is very common; more than half of the patients I see have some version of dry eye, and I think it’s important to mention that it’s not one specific [type of] patient,” she said, adding that she sees these issues with patients she evaluates for cataract surgery, those on glaucoma medications, etc. “We’re talking about patients who might show up for routine eye exams or have been referred due to autoimmune disease, graft vs. host disease, or maybe a prior injury of the eye has left them with lagophthalmos or cicatricial changes.” It’s important to partner with patients to help them understand this is a chronic problem, Dr. Canseco said. “There’s nothing that can completely cure dry eye, but we can make patients feel better, function well, and get through each day. It’s important as ophthalmologists to let patients know that there are changes we can incorporate into their daily routines that can make a difference,” she said, adding that environmental modifications for some patients are often key to successful treatment.
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