PURPOSE: To describe the technique and initial results of laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy performed through the canaliculi. METHODS: Ten patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction underwent transcanalicular laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy. A silicone tube was inserted through the canaliculi and the ostium into the nasal cavity where it will be kept for 6 months. RESULTS: All ten operations were performed without negative occurrences. One patient presented displacement of the silicone tube one day after surgery. Nine of the ten patients reported disappearance of epiphora at the end of the first week following surgery. During the first month, one of these patients presented with epiphora due to obstruction of the lacrimal-nasal fistula and another lost the silicone tube in the first month following surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Transcanalicular laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy is a potentially useful method to perform dacryocystorhinostomy.
Dacryocystorhinostomy; Lacrimal duct obstruction; Nasolacrimal duct; Lacrimal apparatus diseases
