Success rate of Initial Probing for Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction in Children Beyond 1 Year of Age

Apatsa Lekskul, M.D.
Taweekit Nimworapun, M.D.
Polakrit Sukawacharin, M.D.
*Department of Ophthalmology, Ramathibodi Hospital

ABSTRACT :

Objective : To determine the success rate of initial probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction in children beyond 1 year of age.

Methods : We reviewed the results of probing for 104 obstructed nasolacrimal duct in 77 children who presented consecutively to author and had been done probing from July 1998 to October 2003. The age of these patients ranged at the time of probing from 13 months to 10.25 years, with an average of 29.4 months. Successful outcome of probing was defined as absence of tearing, discharge and/or intermittent tearing only with an upper respiratory tract infection.

Results : Eighty-eight eyes (84.61%) were cured after the first probing. When broken down into age categories, the success rate varied from 71.43% to 89.19%. Chi-Square test showed no correlation between cure rate and increasing age (P-value = 0.536).

Conclusion : Probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction in children beyond 1 year of age is highly successful and the cure rate does not vary significantly at intervals of increasing age. These data support the simple probing, which can be done in children up to 10 years of age before step up to other surgical intervention, such as silicone intubation, dacryocystorhinostomy.

Thai J Ophthalmol 2003 ; July-December 17 (2) : 139-143.