Balloon dacryocystoplasty: an alternative treatment for obstructed tear ducts.
Twenty-two patients with severe epiphora due to relative (n = 13) or absolute (n = 9) stenoses of the nasolacrimal duct were treated by means of radiologically guided balloon dacryocystoplasty. The recanalization was performed with a steerable microguide wire with flexible tip, which was advanced through the lacrimal draining system and manipulated out of the nasal cavity. A 3-mm PTA balloon was then introduced from the nasal site. In 20 of 22 cases the procedure was technically successful. Dacryocystography proved a normal lumen in 9 of 20 patients and an improvement without impairment of flow in another 8 cases. Two months after dilation a clear regression of epiphora could be demonstrated in 17 of 20 patients. The procedure was complicated by the occurrence of 2 reobstructions within the first 3 months; other serious side effects were not observed.
Department of Radiology, Hospital of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
D
D
Liermann
J
J
Berkefeld
U
U
Fries
R W
RW
Schalnus
H
H
Gümpel
D000328:Adult; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy; D006801:Humans; D007767:Lacrimal Duct Obstruction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009301:Nasolacrimal Duct / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D015642:Radiology, Interventional; D012008:Recurrence