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Thiemo Hofmann, MD; Andreas Lackner, MD; Klaus Muellner, MD; Wolfgang Luxenberger, MD; Gerald Wolf, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003;129:329-332.

Objective  To describe our experience with potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser–assisted dacryocystorhinostomy, controlled via endolacrimal and endonasal endoscopy. The development of miniendoscopes enables endoscopy of the lacrimal drainage system via the lacrimal puncta to visualize the exact site of a stenosis.

Design  A case series of 78 patients, with 1-year postoperative follow-up.

Settings  A university medical center.

Patients  Consecutive sample of 78 adult patients who required surgery for dacryostenosis.

Intervention  Endolacrimal use of a KTP laser to perform a bony osteotomy of the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity. The position for the perforation was controlled by endonasal endoscopy. The procedure was performed under either general or local anesthesia.

Results  One year after surgery, 65 (83%) of the 78 patients were free of symptoms. Seven patients experienced intermittent tearing, and 6 had revision surgery because of restenosis.

Conclusions  . The success rate of 83% achieved with KTP laser–assisted dacryocystorhinostomy, using miniendoscopes for lacrimal endoscopy to visualize the exact site of obstruction, is better compared with that of prior studies without the use of miniendoscopes (with success rates of 47%-85%). The advantages of this technique are that it is a minimally invasive procedure, requires a short operating time, and avoids use of an external incision.

From the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology, Ear-Nose-Throat (Drs Hofmann, Lackner, Luxenberger, and Wolf) and Ophthalmology (Dr Muellner), University Hospital Graz, Graz, Austria.

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