Efficacy of 0.15% Sodium Hyaluronate Eye Drops in Patients’ Ocular Surface after Upper Eyelid Surgery

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#To evaluate the clinical efficacy of preservative-free 0.15% sodium hyaluronate eye drops on the ocular surface after upper eyelid surgery. @*Methods@#This study included 43 patients who underwent upper eyelid surgery between December 2018 and May 2019. Patients were randomly assigned to group A (those treated with preservative-free 0.15% sodium hyaluronate eye drops) and group B (the control group). Ocular surface disease index score (OSDI), tear break up time (TBUT), Schirmer’s test, corneal staining score (CSS), meibomian gland (MG) quality, MG expressibility, and meiboscore were evaluated before surgery and at 1 week, 1 month, and 2 months after surgery. @*Results@#In group A, OSDI and TBUT showed a significant increase at 1 week after surgery compared with baseline values (all p < 0.05). In group B, OSDI, TBUT, and CSS were significantly higher at 1 week and 1 month after surgery (all p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant changes at 2 months after surgery compared with baseline values. At 1 month after surgery, OSDI (p = 0.03) and CSS (p < 0.01) showed significant changes between group A and group B; however, there was no significant change in the TBUT. There were no significant within-group differences in Schirmer’s test values, MG quality, MG expressibility, or meiboscore, and there were no significant between-group differences over time. @*Conclusions@#Preservative-free 0.15% sodium hyaluronate eye drops were shown to be an effective treatment for early dry-eye symptoms and ocular surface damage after upper eyelid surgery.