Study of intranasal ostium external dacryocystorhinostomy
J. V. Linberg, R. L. Anderson, R. M. Bumsted and R. Barreras
A rigid endoscope was used to directly examine, measure, and photograph the
intranasal ostium created by an external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). This
technique was used to examine 19 patients who underwent 22 standard
external DCRs. All patients had clinically successful results, documented
by a positive Jone I dye test following surgery. The dimension of the bony
opening created at surgery was measured and averaged 11.84 mm in diameter.
The average diameter of the healed intranasal ostium was only 1.80 mm. No
statistically valid correlation between the size of the bony opening and
the final size of the healed intranasal ostium could be established. Thus,
a large surgical anastomosis did not necessarily result in a large healed
intranasal ostium. Excellent functional results were obtained even when the
intranasal ostium was quite small. Other indications for the use of this
technique are discussed.
