Success Rate of Late Probing in Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction in Children Under Seven Years Download PDF

Background and objectives: Nasolacrimal duct obstruction can be found in 2% to 6% of children, which is improved in 90% of patients within 6 months through massage and topical antibiotics. In the absence of therapeutic response, the next step is surgery that leads to healing in 90% of cases. The present study was conducted because of high prevalence of the disease and inconsistencies in success rate of probing after one year of age. Materials and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was performed on 313 patients (365 eyes) under probing at Farshchian Hospital of Hamadan, Iran, during 2009-2015. The success rate of the surgery was determined by the elimination of tearing and eye discharge. The data were recorded in a checklist and analyzed statistically by SPSS software. Results: The study patients consisted of 173 (55.27%) females and 140 (44.73%) males. Most of the subjects were in the age group of 12 to 24 months (64.21%). The involvement included 38% on the right, 46% on the left and 16% on both sides. The success rate of first probing was 88.6%, 87.6%, 61.36% and 53.4% in the age group of less than 12 months, 12 to 24 months, 24 to 48 months and over 48 months. The second probing was performed for 88 eyes that did not succeed in probing; total success rate was 80.48%. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated no significant relationship between surgical success rate and gender as well as between recovery rate and involved side. As the age grows, the success of probing is reduced but due to the high percentage of recovery in children under two years of age as well as considering noninvasive and low cost nature of probing compared with other surgical methods, probing is recommended until the age of two in the absence of the response to topical antibiotics and lacrimal sac massage.