This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Similar outcomes for early vs. late external dacryocystorhinostomy, study finds
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The timing of when an external dacryocystorhinostomy is performed does not significantly affect the efficacy of the procedure, a retrospective study suggests.
Nir Seider, MD, and colleagues reviewed data for 162 patients who underwent 195 dacryocystorhinostomies with silicone intubation over a 7-year period for nasolacrimal duct obstruction. The researchers compared success rates between patients treated with either early or late surgery.
Patients in the early surgery group were treated when they showed symptoms of tearing only or early signs of lacrimal sac inflammation. Patients in the late surgery group were treated more than 6 months after the onset of inflammation, according to the study.
Surgical success was achieved in 81% of cases overall, the authors reported.
Patients treated with early surgery had an 84% success rate, which was higher than the 77% success rate among patients in the late surgery group. However, "these differences were statistically insignificant," the authors noted.
The study is published in the May/June issue Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.