COMPARISON OF RESULTS AND COMPLICATIONS OF EXTERNAL DACRYOCYSTORHINOSTOMY WITH AND WITHOUT SILICONE TUBE

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Nasolacrimal duct obstruction is treated with different methods of surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare the external dacryocystorhinostomy (EX-DCR) procedure with and without silicone intubation and complications caused by these two procedures.METHODS: This study was performed on patients who underwent external DCR with or without silicone tube in Shahid Beheshti hospital of Babol, Iran during 1997-2006. Age, sex, duration of follow-up, probable cause of obstruction, and complications during and after operation were assessed. The success in operation with the decrease in epiphora and purulent discharge was evaluated.FINDINGS: Of 300 patients, 220 patients (73.3%) were female and 80(26.7%) were male. The age of patients was 44.5±22 years. The most common complaints of patients were epiphora in 165(55%) and the most common factor was acute and chronic dacryocystitis in 135(45%). Regarding DCR method, success rate was 95.3% with silicone intubation and 88.7% without silicone intubation (p=0.054). The most frequent complication of DCR was recurrence of epiphora (8%) and unusual scar (2.7%). No major complication occurred during operation.CONCLUSION: EX-DCR is a relatively easy technique with a success rate of more than 90% with few complications. This procedure is recommended to use in most ophthalmic centers