Treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction with recessive placement of nasolacrimal stent combined with lacrimal syringe

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of recessive placement of nasolacrimal stent in the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction and factors affecting the prognosis of the procedure.Design Retrospective case series.Participants One hundred eighty six patients(207 eyes) with nasolacrimal duct obstruction.Methods One hundred eighty six patients(207 eyes) of nasolacrimal duct obstruction confirmed by dacryocystography had undergone recessive placement of nasolacrimal stent after probing and dilation of nasolacrimal duct.All patients received regular postoperative nasolacrimal duct syringe.Main Outcome Measures Status of postoperative lacrimal syringe.Results The stents were removed 3～12 months postoperatively,the patients were followed-up average 6 months.The operation success rate was 97.1%.167 eyes achieved complete success(80.7%).25 eyes became better(12.1%),and nasolacrimal duct obstructed again in 15 cases(7.2%).Conclusions Recessive placement of nasolacrimal stent combined with postoperative nasolacrimal duct syringe is a simple,effective and safe technique in the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction.Selecting correct patients,skillful technique of nasolacrimal duct probing and regular postoperative syringing of nasolacrimal duct are the main factors of successful procedures.