The punctum plug: evaluation of a new treatment for the dry eye.

The problem of a chronic dry eye was approached with the idea of conserving the basal state of tears by inserting a plug to block the lacrimal outflow. The involved anatomy, punctum plug design, method of insertion, and postinsertion instructions were discussed. The results of three patient groups were given and failures discussed. Success in the test group fell between 50% to 75%. Successful insertion and acceptance of the punctum plug should probably exceed 75% in clinical practice.