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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Transcanalicular Diode Laser-assisted Dacryocystorhinostomy for the Treatment of Primary Acquired Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction
Published on: October 13, 2017
Successful outcomes of pediatric dacryocystorhinostomy with adjunctive 5-fluorouracil
Alina K Sinha1, Ethan L Kahana2, Tomas E Meijome3
1Department of Ophthalmology, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Royal Oak, MI, United States.
Purpose:
To determine whether nasal intramucosal 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) injection improves outcomes after external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in pediatric patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO).
Methods:
Multi-center retrospective non-comparative case series review of all DCR cases with intra-operative 5- FU injection performed between 2014 and 2023 on all patients age < 18 years. Each case was reviewed to determine if the patients had epiphora recurrence following surgery with 5-FU injection.
Results:
Sixteen pediatric patients with NLDO (19 eyes) underwent DCR and nasal intramucosal injections of 5-FU intra-operatively. One had a lost stent. Ten (53%) eyes were in patients with craniofacial syndromes. In all patients with the use of 5-FU there was no recurrence of tearing. Eight of the patients (42%) had already had at least one or two failed stents prior in which recurrence had occurred. There were no post-operative complications.
Conclusion:
Adjuvant intramucosal 5-FU demonstrated a 100% success rate of epiphora not recurring following pediatric DCR without any complications in this small sample size, particularly in patients with increased risk of recurrence.
