Nasal endoscopy-guided primary nasolacrimal duct intubation for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction in children older than 4 years.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of endoscopic guided primary bicanalicular intubation (BCI) for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO) in children older than 4 years.

Methods: A total of 40 eyes from 33 children (18 males, 15 females) with CNLDO who underwent bicanalicular intubation were evaluated. The type of CNLDO was determined by endonasal endoscopic visualisation. The mean silicone tube removal time was 4.3 ± 0.9 months (ranging from 3 to 6 months). The children were followed up for 6 months after the removal of tubes. Therapeutic success was defined as the normal result of the fluorescein dye disappearance test and complete resolution of previous lacrimal symptoms and signs.

Results: The median age was 80 [48] (range 48-156) months. Treatment success was achieved in 32 of 40 eyes (80.0%). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the age and success rate (p = 0.006). The success rate was lower in older children. Membranous type of CNLDO was observed in 47.5% (19/40) of the cases. The median age of patients with a membranous and complex type of CNLDO were 60 [30] months and 96 [53] months, respectively. Surgical success was 100% in the membranous type of CNLDO and 61.9% in the complex CNLDO group.

Conclusions: Primary BCI using nasal endoscopic visualisation has a favourably high success rate for treating CNLDO in children aged 4 to 13 years. Treatment success was found to be related to both the type of CNLDO and age.