Clinical Factors Affecting the Surgical Outcomes of Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy

Objectives: Factors influencing outcomes of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) for primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction remain unclear. We evaluated clinical factors associated with surgical success. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent endoscopic DCR for this indication (2012-2022). Allergic rhinitis, obstruction level and type, canalicular intubation stent (CIS) insertion, and adjunctive procedures were analyzed against surgical success, epiphora scores, and SNOT-22 change using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Among 300 eyes (259 patients), the success rate was 82.0%. Epiphora scores improved from 7.6 ± 1.3 to 4.0 ± 2.3 and SNOT-22 from 17.3 ± 19.1 to 11.1 ± 14.2 (both p < 0.001). Sac-level and duct-sac junction obstructions had higher success than canalicular obstruction, and allergic rhinitis was associated with less epiphora improvement. CIS insertion was associated with lower success; however, this was confined to functional (42.0% vs. 92.0%) and canalicular-level (53.3% vs. 77.6%) obstruction-where CIS was selectively used-and absent in drainage-level obstruction (85.3% vs. 85.7%), indicating confounding by indication. Conclusions: Endoscopic DCR yields favorable outcomes with significant epiphora and quality-of-life improvement. Obstruction level, allergic rhinitis, and CIS insertion were associated with surgical outcomes; the CIS association, however, likely reflects confounding by indication rather than a direct adverse effect, as CIS was selectively used in functional and canalicular-level obstruction.