The new Soft Plug Extended Duration 180-T Tapered Plug features a 0.25mm tapered end that gradually widens to 0.6mm. Photo: Oasis Medical. Click image to enlarge.

For patients with dry eye disease or symptoms, temporary punctal plugs are a popular, minimally invasive treatment solution to help relieve ocular surface discomfort by blocking tear drainage via occlusion of the canaliculus. To help ease the process of insertion for clinicians, Oasis Medical now offers a disposable plug featuring a tapered end, which the company launched this past weekend during the annual ASCRS meeting in Boston. Oasis says that the device, called Soft Plug Extended Duration 180-T Tapered Plug, is also engineered to gradually degrade in approximately 180 days, eliminating the need for manual removal in clinic.

The 0.25mm tapered end gets placed into the punctal opening and gradually widens to a diameter of 0.6mm at the top end to occlude the canaliculus, Oasis notes in its press release. Developers note that the device is made with degradable polydioxanone monofilament that lasts up to six months before becoming absorbed into the body. The plugs currently come in a pack of 40, containing 20 pouches with two plugs in each. 

As a medium-term plug, Oasis suggests the Soft Plug Extended Duration 180-T may be suitable for treating patients experiencing temporary symptoms of dry eye after refractive or cataract surgery, as well as for those with dry eye disease who want to trial the treatment modality before committing to a longer-term design.

For more information, go to www.oasismedical.com.