BACKGROUND: Despite the many advantages of endoscopic laser dacryocystorhinostomy, clinical data have been sparse, and the effectiveness of this procedure has not been fully evaluated. METHODS: Among 127 patients (131 procedures) who underwent endoscopic laser lacrimal surgery, 92 procedures with longer than 3 months of follow-up were evaluated. The authors used endoscopic sinus surgery equipment, radiosurgical instruments, otodrill, microrongeur, holmium:YAG and contact neodymium:YAG lasers. RESULTS: After the primary operation, 71 (77.2%) of 92 cases were symptom-free and had positive results on primary Jones dye test. With simple revision of failed cases, 88 (95.7%) of 92 cases were treated successfully. CONCLUSION: Improvement of surgical technique and use of adequate surgical instruments were essential in increasing the rate of success. Endoscopic laser surgery is useful in treating patients with lacrimal passage obstruction, but a longer period of observation is necessary to confirm its effectiveness.
BACKGROUND: Despite the many advantages of endoscopic laser dacryocystorhinostomy, clinical data have been sparse, and the effectiveness of this procedure has not been fully evaluated. METHODS: Among 127 patients (131 procedures) who underwent endoscopic laser lacrimal surgery, 92 procedures with longer than 3 months of follow-up were evaluated. The authors used endoscopic sinus surgery equipment, radiosurgical instruments, otodrill, microrongeur, holmium:YAG and contact neodymium:YAG lasers. RESULTS: After the primary operation, 71 (77.2%) of 92 cases were symptom-free and had positive results on primary Jones dye test. With simple revision of failed cases, 88 (95.7%) of 92 cases were treated successfully. CONCLUSION: Improvement of surgical technique and use of adequate surgical instruments were essential in increasing the rate of success. Endoscopic laser surgery is useful in treating patients with lacrimal passage obstruction, but a longer period of observation is necessary to confirm its effectiveness.