Ocular Surface Control in Surgical Dry Eye

Real-world experience with Lacrifill® Canalicular Gel

Exploring the use of Lacrifill® to support ocular surface control in patients with moderate-to-severe DED before and following ocular surgery

For patients undergoing cataract or refractive surgery, controlling the ocular surface is an important part of the surgical journey. An unstable ocular surface can compromise pre-operative measurements and surgical planning, while dry eye disease may remain a challenge following ocular surgery.^1-6

In this educational collection, clinicians from the UK, Germany and Portugal share their real-world experience of using Lacrifill® Canalicular Gel, a cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel administered into the canaliculus, in patients with moderate-to-severe DED across different surgical settings.

Johnson Neo discusses patients with moderate-to-severe DED undergoing cataract surgery or LASIK. Following pre-operative Lacrifill® administration, statistically significant improvements were observed in tear meniscus height, Schirmer's score, tear film break-up time, corneal staining and patient-reported symptoms. Improvements in tear film parameters were sustained at four weeks post-operatively.

Elias Golschan illustrates the importance of achieving ocular surface control before cataract surgery. His patient, who had advanced DED and suspected Sjögren's syndrome, had previously had surgery postponed because ocular surface instability prevented reliable biometry. Following Lacrifill® treatment, symptoms and objective ocular surface findings improved, enabling reproducible pre-operative measurements and surgical planning to proceed.

Joana Pargana and colleagues explore another challenge within the surgical dry eye journey: persistent DED in a patient with a history of LASIK and pterygium surgery. Despite extensive previous therapy, the patient remained highly symptomatic. One month after Lacrifill® administration, patient-reported symptoms and reliance on tear supplements were reduced, alongside improvements in tear meniscus height and ocular surface staining.

Together, these real-world experiences highlight the importance of ocular surface control across the surgical journey and illustrate the potential role of Lacrifill® in managing moderate-to-severe DED in patients undergoing, or with a history of, ocular surgery.

For more information on Lacrifill visit Lacrifill.info

^{GL-LAC-2600067 | September 2026}

References
1. Epitropoulos AT, et al. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2015 Aug;41(8):1672–1677.
2. Röggla V, et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2021 Jan:221:1–8.
3. Starr CE, et al. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2019 May;45(5):669–684.
4. Kojima T, et al. J Refract Surg. 2011 Dec;27(12):894–898.
5. Kim J, et al. BMC Ophthalmol. 2021 Oct 13;21(1):364.
6. Trattler WB, et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2017 Aug;11:1423–1430.

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Lacrimal Occlusion with Cross-Linked Hyaluronic Acid Canalicular Gel to Optimize the Ocular Surface

In this video, Johnson Neo presents a real-world case series of patients with moderate-to-severe DED undergoing cataract surgery or LASIK.

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