Brett Levin,¹ Vasi Naganathan,¹ Arjuna Ananda,^1,2,3 Raf Ghabrial^1,2,3
1Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, ²Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, and ³Sydney Day Surgery, Newtown, Australia

Aim: To evaluate the outcome of 100 primary endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy operations.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at 3 hospitals in Sydney, Australia, by reviewing patients' medical records. Ninety eight patients with epiphora or chronic dacryocystitis underwent endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy between 2001 and 2005. Two patients had bilateral surgery. The mean age of the patients was 62 years. Mean follow-up was 13 months.
Results: The overall success rate was 91% (objective and subjective criteria) or 95% (objective criteria). Complications included epistaxis, surgical emphysema, and formation of fibrous adhesions. Early silicone tube dislodgement occurred in 7 patients, but all of these had successful outcomes.
Conclusion: Similar to the traditional external approach, endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy was found to be a safe operation with a high success rate.

Key words: Dacryocystitis, Dacryocystorhinostomy, Lacrimal apparatus diseases, Lacrimal duct obstruction

Asian J Ophthalmol. 2007;9:117-121.