Surgical results of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy and lacrimal trephination in distal or common canalicular obstruction.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the surgical outcomes of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy followed by canalicular trephination and silicone stenting in patients with distal or common canalicular obstructions.


METHODS
The medical records of 29 patients (31 eyes) from January 2001 to December 2009 who underwent endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy followed by canalicular trephination and silicone tube insertion for the treatment of distal or common canalicular obstructions were retrospectively reviewed. The level of obstruction was confirmed by intraoperative probing. The outcome of the surgery was categorized as a complete success, partial success, or failure according to the functional and anatomic patency.


RESULTS
The average age of the patients was 52 years. The duration of silicone intubation ranged from 4 to 11 months with an average of 5.7±1.6 months. The follow-up period after stent removal ranged from 4 to 15 months with an average of 8.2±3.3 months. Complete success was achieved in 25 out of 31 eyes (80.6%), partial success in 4 out of 31 eyes (12.9%), and failure in 2 out of 31 eyes (6.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
Endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy followed by canalicular trephination and silicone stent intubation may be safe and considered as an initial treatment of patients with distal or common canalicular obstructions.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Cheonan Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
Byoung-Joon
BJ
Baek
Gyu-Rin
GR
Hwang
Dong-Ho
DH
Jung
I-Seok
IS
Kim
Jae-Min
JM
Sin
Heung-Man
HM
Lee