PROKERA to Heal Dry Eye | Vision Quest

Over time, chronic dry eye symptoms can begin to damage the surface of your eye (your cornea). It is important to maintain a healthy cornea to promote good vision. That’s why Vision Quest is now performing a new dry eye treatment in Dallas called PROKERA®. This is the only FDA-cleared therapeutic device available to reduce ocular inflammation and promote healing.

Using Amniotic Membrane Tissue to Treat Dry Eye

PROKERA, made by Bio-Tissue^®, is designed using a thin piece of amniotic membrane tissue held in place by a clear ring. During a simple outpatient procedure, our Dallas dry eye doctors place PROKERA on the surface of your eye. The natural, therapeutic properties of the amniotic membrane tissue heal the damage caused by dry eye. Patients report that their eyes feel more comfortable with this treatment and vision is often improved. When healing is complete, the PROKERA insert is removed.

Is PROKERA Safe?

The FDA regulates the tissue banks that supply the amniotic membrane tissues used in PROKERA. The tissue must pass numerous quality control tests before it is approved for use.

Do All Dry Eyes Need PROKERA?

Definitely not. Vision Quest is proud to offer the most comprehensive dry eye testing in Dallas to determine the quality of your tear film and the condition of your cornea. Using a variety of methods, we can determine if you have Evaporative Dry Eye (the most common form) or Aqueous Deficient Dry Eye. For dry eye evaluation, we offer:

LipiView® Ocular Surface Interferometer with Dynamic Meibomian Gland Imaging (DMI) to measure the thickness of your lipid layer, study the condition of your meibomian glands (eyelid glands), analyze your blink patterns and determine the response of your lipid layer with each blink. Our doctors can determine if you are suffering from Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) caused by a blockage to the eye glands. This evaluation can also determine if your eyes are not fully blinking which may lead to poor tear quality and dry eye.
InflammaDry® to detect elevated levels of an inflammatory marker, MMP-9, which can point to early signs of dry eye disease that might be overlooked by other testing methods. This is a quick, 4-step process that provides an early diagnosis of dry eye, allowing patients to potentially reduce the risk of dry eye complications in the future.
TearLab Osmolarity System® to measure the concentration (osmolarity) of your tears. This extremely precise diagnostic test is an invaluable tool to not only diagnose dry eye but also gain insight into the health of your ocular surface.

You may not need all of these tests, but you can rest assured that our team has the tools necessary to get to the root cause of your irritating symptoms.

Dry Eye Treatments

Once we have determined the cause of your symptoms, we can recommend the most effective course of treatment. The use of amniotic membrane tissue (PROKERA) may not be the right method for you. At Vision Quest we offer multiple dry eye treatments to achieve the best possible results:

LipiFlow® Thermal Pulsation Treatment: a treatment for Evaporative Dry Eye. We are the first practice in Dallas to offer this treatment to unblock eyelid glands so they can resume production of complex natural oils. Our doctors apply controlled heat and adaptive pressure to the inner eyelids during this quick procedure.
Lumenis® M22 IPL: a therapy for inflamed eyelids. Using intense pulsed light, our doctors can target the source of the inflammation to provide dry eye relief and improve your ocular surface health. IPL technology is often used for skin rejuvenation but it is also very effective as a dry eye treatment.
Punctal plugs: a method to close your tear ducts so your eyes retain an adequate amount of lubrication from your tears. These tiny plugs can be inserted into the tear drain of your lower eyelid temporarily or semi-permanently, depending on the severity of your dry eye.

If you would like to learn more about options to get relief from dry eye, contact the Dallas dry eye specialists at Vision Quest today to schedule an eye exam and get the right treatment for relief.