Treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction with polyurethane stent placement: long-term results

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of polyurethane stent placement in adults with nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

Polyurethane stents were placed under fluoroscopic guidance in 52 eyes of 49 patients (mean age, 43 years) with severe epiphora due to idiopathic nasolacrimal duct obstruction. The obstruction was complete in 44 eyes and partial in eight. Clinical success was defined as complete resolution of or great improvement in the symptoms of epiphora and the patency of the lacrimal system to irrigation. Mean follow-up was 23 months (range, 14-44 months).

Stent placement was technically successful in 50 eyes (96%). The mean fluoroscopy screening time was 2.2 min (range, 0.2-5.8 min). Two patients were lost to follow-up. Clinical success was obtained in 33 (69%) of 48 eyes. Lacrimal symptoms developed in 23 (70%) of these 33 eyes at least once during the follow-up, but these patients responded well to topical drug treatment and lacrimal irrigation. External dacryocystorhinostomy was performed in 13 eyes after failure of the stents. At surgery, lacrimal sacs were shrunken, hyperemic, and fragile in all eyes, making it difficult to anastomose with nasal mucosa. Histologic examination showed granulation tissue and chronic inflammation of the sac epithelium.

The success rate of the nasolacrimal stent decreases as follow-up lengthens. After stent treatment, lacrimal symptoms frequently develop, even if the stent remains patent, and require multiple office visits and therapy. The polyurethane stent may induce a chronic inflammatory response in the lacrimal sac, which can interfere with subsequent dacryocystorhinostomy.