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Updated: May 17, 2026
Transcanalicular Diode Laser-assisted Dacryocystorhinostomy for the Treatment of Primary Acquired Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction
Published on: October 13, 2017
Endoscopic transcanalicular diode laser dacryocystorhinostomy: is it an alternative method to conventional external
Kutukde Derya1, Soner Demirel, Selim Doganay
1Department of Ophthalmology, Inonu University School of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Purpose:
To compare the success rates of endoscopic transcanalicular diode laser dacryocystorhinostomy (EL-DCR) and external DCR.
Materials And Methods:
Operations were performed on 55 eyes of 54 patients who had distal nasolacrimal canal obstruction. External DCR was performed on 29 of the eyes and EL-DCR on 26 of them. Success was defined based on subjective relief of patients reported at their final examinations.
Results:
There were 23 women and 6 men in group 1 and 19 women and 6 men in group 2 (p = 0.77). The mean ages of groups were 45.24 ± 12.08 (range, 15-74) and 43.2 ± 17.01 (range, 11-72) years, respectively (p = 0.63). The mean follow-up times were 8.82 ± 5.51 (range, 3-18) and 7.12 ± 2.96 (range, 2-12) months, respectively in groups (p = 0.58). The success rates based on symptoms were measured at 25 of 29 (86%) and 17 of 25 (68%) for 2 groups. The difference in the success rates was higher but not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.202). The authors found various conditions related to nasal passage in 4 of 8 unsuccessful EL-DCR, including allergic rhinitis, nasal crust, silicone tube reaction, and unsuitable passage for endoscopic surgery.
Conclusions:
The success rate of EL-DCR was lower than that of the external DCR; however, no statistically significant difference was observed. Endoscopic transcanalicular diode laser DCR may be considered as an alternative method to external DCR with these results.
