The International Tinnitus Journal

Primary Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy with or without stent tubing

Author(s): Lamis Marwan Lutfi, Muhammad Sherwani, Lana Abdulrazzaq Shahabaddin Dabbagh*

Introduction: Epiphora means excessive tearing due to outflow obstruction. Epiphora is a common complaint of patients who present to an ophthalmology or otolaryngology clinic and becomes more common in an aging population. Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) has been established as the prevailing procedure for acquired NLD obstruction. DCR is a surgical method that allows the direct drainage of tears from the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity, bypassing the blocked NLD. Methods: A prospective cohort and interventional study preliminary were conducted employing a pre-and post-test (intervention) design, both before and after implementing an interventional dacryocystorhinostomy procedure. A total 61 patients who were suffering from nasolacrimal duct obstruction and filling of a previously designed questionnaire form. Follow-up phase lasted for 6 months, during which all operated cases were reviewed by direct interviewing of the cases in 3 subsequent occasions of 1,2,and 3 months intervals postoperatively. Results: Out of 61 cases; 52(85.2%) of them were females. The age of the participants ranged from 15-71 years with a mean age ± SD of 40.7 ± 13.5 years. About 85% of participants were younger than 55 years. The most frequently reported age group was 35-44 years constituting about 28%. Around 85% of preoperative Munk scores were of 3 and 4 while in the first, second, and 3rd visits it became0 & 1, the dacryocystorhinostomy showed an obvious improvement in the mean Munk score in preoperative assessment in comparison to post-operative one with a mean score improvement from 3.2 preoperatively to less than 0.5 postoperatively, and similar in the LAQ score from 5.6to less than 0.5. Conclusions: This study concluded that the dacryocystorhinostomy has an obvious improvement in the mean Munk score and a positive effect in improving the lacrimal symptom score. There is no statistically significant difference between the outcome results of dacryocystorhinostomy with and without insertion of the stent. Endoscopic DCR is a safe and minimally invasive technique.

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