Retain More Patients in Your Practice with OptiLIFT

As an optometrist specializing in ocular surface disease and dry eye, I’m always looking for ways to elevate patient care while supporting my practice’s continued growth. Over the years, I’ve incorporated in-office treatments that have significantly improved outcomes, such as OptiLIGHT and OptiPLUS. However, there was still a clinical gap when the cause wasn’t solely meibomian gland dysfunction or inflammation—when there were issues with the lower lid itself. With OptiLIFT, I can close this gap by intervening earlier to address lower lid laxity and impaired blinking before the problem progresses.

Recognize and Address Lower Lid Laxity

Lower lid laxity is fairly common, especially as we age and lose muscle mass and tone. Our skeletal muscles lose 3-8% of their mass each decade after age 30,¹ leading to a decrease in support of facial skin and gravitational descent of fat and volume. While these changes are more obvious in patients in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, I’ve found that we can start to identify changes in lid structure in patients as young as their 30s—especially when we’re looking for them.

The lower lid plays a crucial role in tear stability and drainage. When lower lid laxity occurs, that process breaks down, impacting the ocular surface. In fact, patients with lower eyelid laxity are more than twice as likely to develop severe ocular surface symptoms and signs of dry eye disease (DED).² Despite its prevalence, options for addressing lower lid laxity have been limited to ongoing management, such as nighttime ointments, taping, and blinking exercises, or for more severe cases, surgery.

OptiLIFT changes the approach by utilizing Lumenis’ proprietary Dynamic Muscle Stimulation technology (DMSt™) to activate facial muscles in the periorbital area with electrical impulses, tightening and toning the muscle to address the function of the lower eyelid.³ A new clinical study found that DMSt helps to improve blink quality, meibomian gland function, and dry eye symptoms in patients with lower lid laxity and moderate to severe DED.³

Manage Lid Laxity In-House

I practice in a multispecialty ophthalmology group with retina, cornea, cataract, and glaucoma specialists. What we don’t have is in-house oculoplastics, so when I identify a patient with a significant lower lid issue, I have to consider whether it’s progressed enough to refer out for surgery.

Increasingly, patients are looking for less invasive options. Even in more cases where surgery might be appropriate, many hesitate due to concerns over downtime, risks, and recovery. With OptiLIFT, I can manage patients’ lower lid laxity before it progresses to this stage—offering them a non-invasive path forward right within our practice. The treatment takes just four 14-minute sessions, with a one-week interval between them.

Educating patients on proper blink dynamics is not new, but having OptiLIFT allows us to start the conversation earlier and walk patients through their options. This empowers them to make decisions that align with their comfort level while ensuring the best possible outcomes for their ocular health.

So far, the response has been very positive.

Seamless Integration into Practice

Each technology addresses different patient concerns on its specific intended use. OptiLIGHT reduces inflammation and significantly improves tear breakup time, meibum quality, and meibomian gland expressibility.^4,5 OptiPLUS helps to reach different skin layers to enhance blood circulation, collagen production, and target meibomian glands.^6,7 Together, they address key contributors to dry eye. But if the blink quality is off, progress can sometimes feel like two steps forward, one step back.

That’s where OptiLIFT comes in. By using DMSt to address impaired blinking and lower lid laxity alongside meibomian gland health, we’re now able to deliver a more comprehensive approach to treatment. OptiLIFT is easy to integrate, with three presets designed specifically for treatments around the eye.

I’ve always believed in packaging treatments to achieve the best possible outcomes. Pairing OptiLIGHT with OptiPLUS has been valuable, and with OptiLIFT, I’m excited to build on that approach. I plan to bundle OptiLIGHT and OptiLIFT into a four-session package, an ideal combination for patients with dry eye disease that includes lower lid issues. The two technologies complement each other well: OptiLIGHT’s IPL helps manage inflammation, and OptiLIFT’s DMSt addresses the lower lid laxity while its RF component precisely delivers heat to the skin layers.

In my experience, offering device-based treatment packages tailored to patient needs has supported faster satisfaction and improved ROI. We’re seeing similar potential with OptiLIFT as a new addition to our offering. It will also help retain more patients over time. Many will benefit from touch-up treatments down the line, and with OptiLIFT, we now have another way to support their long-term outcomes.

Open Doors to New Revenue Streams

Adding OptiLIFT has presented new opportunities for practice growth. It helps us reach a broader patient population of those struggling with lower lid issues, and its added aesthetic benefits enhance our current offerings.

In less than one week, I was able to schedule $37,200 in OptiLIFT treatments and collected $65,000 in completed packages and treatments, which included OptiLIGHT and/or OptiPLUS.

While patients appreciate the functional improvements with OptiLIFT, many also notice visible changes in how their eyes look. A clinical study of Lumenis’s DMSt technology showed a 63% improvement in overall eyelid appearance.³  What sets DMSt apart from other technologies is its ability to restore tone and create a naturally lifted look—”working out” the periorbital muscles and restoring rigidity to the lower lids. OptiLIFT treatments are tailored for around the eye, and we can address common aesthetic concerns like lower-lid bags and crow’s feet.

Final Thoughts

OptiLIFT doesn’t replace the technologies we have—it complements them. For practitioners considering investing in OptiLIFT, my advice is this: really look at your patients and start paying closer attention to the lids. The more we recognize lower lid laxity as a problem, the more we realize how important it is to have an effective approach in place. For me, OptiLIFT was a natural progression in the technologies I utilize in my practice. It gave me a way to address an issue I was seeing every day in my patients, for which I previously had limited options to treat effectively.

In the end, it’s always about delivering the best care for our patients. When we do that effectively, practice growth follows.

Dr. Julie McLaughlin has been practicing at Lehigh Eye Specialists in Allentown, Pennsylvania, since 2013. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular surface disease and dry eye syndrome.

Website: https://lehigheyespecialists.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-mclaughlin-36ab3578/

*The manufacturer Bios srl disclaims all liability, express or implied, and cannot be held responsible for direct or indirect personal injury and/or property damage, occurring as a result of incorrect procedures linked to the use of the OptiPLUS device combined with other devices that are not manufactured by Bios srl or out of the FDA/TGA approved scope. Any content of the document related to devices manufactured by third parties is not subjected to the review and the approval by Bios