[Intubation of afferent lacrimal ducts--a review of techniques]

The authors present a review of various techniques of long-term intubation of efferent lacrimal pathways by a silicone fibre. They use an original way of intubation and intubate the insertion probes of the intubation set from the lower nasal outlet by means of a titanium loop under direct optic control by means of an endoscope. The use of the endoscope makes it possible to reduce the number of complications and iatrogenic damage of the mucosa and it enhances the effectiveness of the procedure. The authors prefer the use of special intubations sets; for young children intubation sets made from soft metal are preferable. At present all their demands are met by the intubation set they developed in collaboration with the Technical University, Prague. During the period between April 1994 and August 1996 the authors used the described technique for bicanalicular intubation of the efferent lacrimal pathways in 127 children and in adult patients 6x. In 86 instances they used an intubation set of Geuder Co., 44 times their own intubation set.