Success rates of nasolacrimal duct probing at time intervals after 1 year of age1Historical image
Section snippets
Patients and methods
Three hundred twenty-nine patients with obstruction of the lacrimal drainage system were identified. Fifty-three patients were excluded from consideration in this study because they were seen and treated before 1 year of age for various reasons. Also excluded were 11 patients who had canalicular obstructions, a dacryocystocele, or complicating anatomic abnormalities, such as frontonasal dysplasia, encephalocele, or tumor. Eight patients were eliminated because no obstruction was found when a
Results
The results of probing are presented in Table 1. Individual ducts of bilateral cases are considered independently, because they did not always respond to probing in the same way. Patients are arranged into five groups by age at the time of probing: those probed (1) from 12 through 14 months of age, (2) from 15 through 17 months, (3) from 18 through 23 months, (4) from 24 through 35 months, and (5) after 36 months of age. In group 5, the age range was from 3.0 to 9.3 years with a mean of 4.4 and
Discussion
Probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction is a highly successful procedure. It appears to remain successful up to 4 or 5 years of age if, for whatever reason, a patient has not been treated earlier. The fact that there are probing failures at all ages considered in this study suggests that the nature of the obstruction varies from patient to patient, and some obstructions are resistant to simple probing at any age. There is nothing in the data presented to suggest that for a given
References (7)
- et al.
Results of late probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction
Ophthalmology
(1986) - et al.
Timing of initial probing and irrigation in congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction
Ophthalmology
(1987) - et al.
Congenital nasolacrimal duct obstructionnatural history and the timing of optimal intervention
J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus
(1994)
Cited by (0)
- 1
The author has no proprietary interest in the instruments or techniques described in this study.