A simple and evolutional approach proven to recanalise the nasolacrimal duct obstruction.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate a new approach of recanalisation of nasolacrimal duct obstruction (RC-NLDO) in the treatment of the nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO) and chronic dacryocystitis.


METHODS
583 patients with 641 eyes suffering from NLDO and chronic dacryocystitis were enrolled in this study. The RC-NLDO was performed in 506 eyes, with 135 eyes undergoing external dacryocystorhinostomy (EX-DCR) as controls. Patient follow-up for 54 months was evaluated by symptoms, dye disappearance test, lacrimal irrigation and digital subtraction dacryocystogram. The RC-NLDO was also performed in 12 rhesus monkeys for histopathological examination.


RESULTS
The clinical success rates were 93.1% in 506 cases of RC-NLDO and 91.11% in 135 cases of EX-DCR. The success rates for second surgery were achieved in 85.19% on RC-NLDO and 40.0% on EX-DCR. No major intra- or postoperative complications were observed in the RC-NLDO group. The mean operative duration was 12.5 min for RC-NLDO and 40.3 min for EX-DCR (p<0.001). A pathological study in rhesus monkeys demonstrated that the RC-NLDO wounded epithelium in nasolacrimal duct healed completely within 1 month without granulation tissue formation.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings demonstrate that the RC-NLDO is a simple and effective approach proven to recanalise the obstructed nasolacrimal duct with a comparable success rate to EX-DCR.
Department of ENT, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, PR China.
D
D
Chen
J
J
Ge
L
L
Wang
Q
Q
Gao
P
P
Ma
N
N
Li
D-Q
DQ
Li
Z
Z
Wang
D000818:Animals; D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation; D003608:Dacryocystorhinostomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007767:Lacrimal Duct Obstruction / Q000473:pathology; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009301:Nasolacrimal Duct / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D014945:Wound Healing