Thermocautery for Inferior Conjunctivochalasis

Abstract

To describe a thermocautery technique to treat symptomatic inferior conjunctivochalasis. Thirty-nine eyes of 23 patients with symptomatic inferior conjunctivochalasis were treated with thermocautery. The mean age of the patients was 78.6 ± 5.4 years (±SD) with a range of 69-89 years. Patients with symptomatic inferior conjunctivochalasis were initially treated with topical medication, and the eyes that were unresponsive underwent a ligation test. We treated those eyes in which symptoms improved or disappeared during the ligation test. The redundant bulbar conjunctival tissue was grasped with smooth forceps and cauterized with the OPTEMP variable low temperature cauterizer until the redundant conjunctival tissue was gone. The mean follow-up period was 469.5 ± 234.6 days (range, 101-823 days). After the thermocautery, the symptoms disappeared in 36 of 39 eyes (92.3%) and improved in the remaining 3 eyes (7.7%). The conjunctival laxity disappeared in 36 of 39 eyes (92.3%) and improved in 3 eyes (7.7%). There were no recurrences of the conjunctival laxity during the follow-up period. Thermocautery is a simple and effective treatment for symptomatic inferior conjunctivochalasis.