PURPOSE: To determine the success rate of probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction and the factors related to probe failure. METHOD: A retrospective observational study was conducted, involving 80 children with congenital nasolacrimal obstruction who underwent nasolacrimal probing. The subjects were evaluated according to sex, age and probing outcome. The data were evaluated according to the descriptive method, Goodman test and Mann-Whitney test adopting a significance of 5%. RESULTS: The possibility of cure was the same in both sexes. The mean age at cure was 19.95±11.44 months and on failure was 23.67±15.21 months. The analysis showed no significant change in cure rate when over 6 months old. Nasal alterations such as rinitis, mucosal or turbinate bone hypertrophy, septum deviation and sinusitis were associated with probe failure. CONCLUSION: The cure rate does not vary significantly at intervals of increasing ages even it over 12 months old. Nasal alterations might be included in the causes of failure.
Lacrimal duct obstruction; Nasolacrimal duct; Dacryocystorhinostomy; Time factors; Treatment failure; Retrospective studies
