Meibomian Gland Expression
Clearing the blockage that starves your tear film of oil
Each eyelid holds roughly twenty five to forty meibomian glands that secrete oil onto the tear film every time you blink. That oil layer is what keeps tears from evaporating between blinks. When the glands become obstructed the oil thickens into a paste like consistency and stops flowing, and the tear film breaks apart within seconds.
Expression clears that blockage directly. Using specialized forceps or paddles, your provider applies firm, controlled pressure along the lid margin to evacuate the stagnant contents of each gland. What comes out tells us a great deal about how far the disease has progressed.
Left untreated, chronically blocked glands eventually atrophy and disappear. Gland tissue that has already dropped out does not regenerate, which is why early intervention matters so much.
Warming first, then expression
Expression works far better when the oil has been softened first. We typically precede the procedure with low level light therapy or intense pulsed light, both of which liquefy hardened meibum and reduce the discomfort of expression itself.
The procedure takes a few minutes per eyelid. A topical anesthetic drop is available for patients with significant tenderness. Most describe firm pressure rather than pain, and vision may be briefly hazy from released oil before settling within an hour.
Before and after imaging with our Firefly slit lamp documents both gland structure and secretion quality, so we can see objectively whether the treatment interval needs adjusting.
Expression physically clears obstructed oil glands, restoring the lipid layer that keeps tears from evaporating between blinks.
