title: Endoscopic endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy: results in 56 patients.
abstract: Fifty-six patients with a complete stenosis of the nasolacrimal duct were treated by endoscopically controlled intranasal dacryocystorhinostomy according to West. Forty-four patients had idiopathic stenosis and 12 had posttraumatic scarring. Revision surgery was done in 11 of these 56 cases (8 patients with a previous external Toti procedure, and 3 patients with previous endonasal surgery). Altogether, 95% of the patients were symptom-free (86%) or felt improved (9%) postoperatively. Surgical revision was successful in 82%. Of patients with an "idiopathic" stenosis, 84% were healed and an additional 11% were improved. The success rate in the 12 patients with posttraumatic stenosis was 92%. Endoscopic duct surgery is a highly successful procedure with a low complication rate, the worst complication being persistence of symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weidenbecher
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hosemann
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Buhr
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003608:Dacryocystorhinostomy / Q000379:methods*; D004653:Empyema / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007767:Lacrimal Duct Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009301:Nasolacrimal Duct / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome