Autologous Serum Eye Drops
Are you suffering from severe dry eyes? If so, and you have failed to receive relief from over the counter eye lubricants or in the case of more severe problems even Restasis®, your own body may have the answer. Artificial tears do not provide the essential nutrients necessary for healthy eyes.
Autologous serum eye drops or “the healing soup” contains many components that aid in the healing and health of the eyes. Vitamin A, epithelial growth factors, insulin like growth factors, substance P, as well as other natural components all assist in providing superior eye lubrication and possible healing of damaged tissues. Illnesses which can benefit from the serum eye drops include Sjorgren’s syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, which destroys the tear glands, chemotherapy, and various auto-immune syndromes. Logistically, if the procedure requires planning ahead for the blood draw, you can contact Pavilion Compounding Pharmacy in Atlanta for details on the options. Basically, in simplistic terms, your own blood is drawn, spun down in a centrifuge, and the plasma is compounded under sterile conditions into the nourishing eye drops.
As this is a sterile procedure, the time to compound varies with the amount of blood drawn, as well as how many patients are being helped on any given day. Allow at least 2 to 3 hours from the time of blood draw to the time you may pick up your drops. There are several good restaurants in the Buckhead area, as well as shopping options that can be just a short trip while we are making the drops.
At Pavilion Compounding Pharmacy, we compound these as preservative-free eye drops, so keeping the drops cold in transport is important. We provide cold bags, but it is encouraged, if you have a long distance to travel, which many of our patients have, to bring along a cooler to assure compliance with the storage requirements. We have found many doctors and other health care providers are not familiar with this therapeutic option and we would be happy to discuss the benefits and procedures necessary for a smooth, convenient, procedure.