The Effect of Stenosis Nature on Success of Silicone Intubation for Nasolacrimal Duct Stenosis in Adults

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of stenosis nature on success of silicone intubation for nasosolacrimal duct stenosis (NLDS) in adults (patent nasolacrimal duct with resistance to positive-pressure irrigation) Methods: An interventional case series of consecutive monocanalicular and bicanalicular silicone intubation for nasolacrimal duct stenosis in adults were reviewed. The severity of the stenosis was classified by the surgeon as simple (defined as an easy passage during the probing procedure) or tight (defined as a resistance along the nasolacrimal duct with difficulty in probe passage). Treatment success was defined as the complete resolution of epiphora or intermittent epiphora with normal dye disappearance test at one year after tube removal. Results: The study were included a total of 49 eyes of 37 patients (21 females and 16 males). The mean age at the time of surgery was 49.45±19.22 years (range, 14-79 years). Simple stenosis was found in 31 eyes (63.3%) and tight stenosis was found in 18 eyes (36.7%). Treatment success was achieved in 35 of 49 eyes (71.4 %). There was a statistically insignificant increase in treatment success of intubation in tight stenosis (88.8%) compared with simple stenosis (61.2%) (p=0.05). Conclusion: Silicone intubation was more successful in eyes with tight nasolacrimal duct stenosis. However, the severity of the stenosis was not a predictive factor for intubation failure.