Improved subjective symptoms of conjunctivochalasis using bipolar diathermy method for conjunctival shrinkage

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the improvement in subjective symptoms of conjunctivochalasis afterbipolar coagulation.Methods: Forty-three eyes of 26 patients (average age, 75.7 ± 8.4 years) were included in thisstudy. The inferior conjunctivas were cauterized between April 2009 and June 2010. Surgeryinvolved pinching the excess conjunctiva and performing bipolar cauterization after subconjunctivalinjection of a local anesthetic agent. Patients were asked to describe the postoperativeforeign-body sensation and change in subjective symptoms 1 month postoperatively, with thepreoperative symptom score defined as 10.Results: Twenty-two patients (84.6%) reported symptom relief immediately after the procedure,though all patients had a mild gritty sensation for 1-2 weeks postoperatively. The meanpostoperative symptom score obtained from the questionnaire was 3.27 ± 3.31, which wassignificantly lower than the preoperative score (P< 0.0001). No patients had experiencedrecurrent symptoms at the end of the follow-up period.Conclusion: Thermal cauterization can achieve conjunctival shrinkage and adherence to thesubconjunctival tissues. Operation time is only a few minutes, postoperative pain is not severe,and the procedure can be performed in an outpatient clinic, all of which represent benefits tothe patients. © 2011 Kashima et al.