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Double silicone tube placement effective for partial lacrimal obstructions in study
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Placing two silicone tubes may be an effective, minimally invasive option for treating partial lacrimal system obstructions in adult patients, according to a small study by researchers at the University of Michigan.
Hakan Demirci, MD, and Victor M. Elner, MD, PhD, reviewed outcomes for 24 eyes of 18 patients treated for partial lacrimal system obstructions. All cases were treated with double silicone tube intubation, with the first tube removed after an average of 11 months and the second tube removed after an average of 16 months.
At 21 months mean follow-up after the second tube was removed, tearing had remained resolved in 19 eyes (79%) and remained improved in two eyes (8%), according to the study.
"In eyes with resolved tearing, Jones I testing became positive, and there was no resistance to positive-pressure irrigation," the study authors said.
Three eyes (13%) showed persistent tearing and required external dacryocystorhinostomy. Two eyes developed peripunctal pyogenic granulomas and represented the only complications reported, the authors noted.
The study is published in the February issue of Ophthalmology.