Ocular surface disease: One physician’s approach to treatment

It has been a busy 2 weeks in the clinic since I wrote my last commentary on dry eye syndrome, focusing on the screening diagnostics I use in my practice. First, a few more thoughts on the diagnosis side, and then on to therapy. I will compare what I do today vs. what I did in the past and focus on what I am really doing in my clinical practice today.In disclosure, I have practiced as a consultative corneal specialist for 38 years, so I may see a different mix of patients than other clinicians, and I consult widely in the field of ocular surface disease, including with companies that manufacture some of the products I will mention and/or their competitors. One could write a several hundred page book on the topic of ocular surface disease, and my comments are limited to a few paragraphs, so many topics are left out. The focus is on the horses, not the zebras. I have seen a few cases of ligneous conjunctivitis in my career and have had more ocular pemphigoid to treat than some, but these rarer cases are not the topic of today’s commentary.