ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medial maxillectomy is commonly performed for benign and low-grade malignancies involving the lateral wall of the nose. The most frequent complications are cavity crusting, epicanthal scarring and epiphora. Silicone stent, tube fixation in lacrimal sac have been used for prophylaxis of epiphora. Authors studied for the incidence of epiphora and necessity for prophylatic procedure of epiphora in patients who underwent medial maxillectomy. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This study was performed on 26 patients treated with medial maxillectomy without additional procedure for management of epi-phora. The minimal duration of follow-up was 6 months. RESULTS: Twenty one patients were treated with medial maxillectomy only and five patients were treated with medial maxillectomy combined with irradiation. Incidence of epiphora was about 7% (2/26). All patients who complained of epiphora had inverted papilloma and underwent medial maxillectomy without irradiation. No patients treated with combination of medial maxillectomy and irradiation complained epiphora. CONCLUSION: It is not necessary to do routine prophylatic procedures for epiphora at the initial procedure.