Conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy with Rubber-Tipped Jones Tube

ABSTRACT

One of the problems of conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy which employs the conventional Jones tube is that the end of Jones tube has to be manipulated by the surgeon so that the tube resides within the nasal cavity while not touching the middle turbinate and the nasal septum. As a result, for most of the patients who have high nasal septal deviation, paradoxical curvature, or middle turbinate hypertrophy, there wasn't enough room within the nasal cavity where one end of Jones tube could rest. Such patients required either septoplasty or turbinectomy before they underwent conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy. In order to overcome such a problem, the authors connected a 4 Fr. rubber tube to the conventional Jones tube, and helped the end of the tube to reside within the nasal cavity regardless of the anatomical variation of either the nasal septum or the middle turbinate. When such modified procedure is used, the conven tional Jones tube will make contact with the conjunctiva, lacrimal sac, and the nasal mucosa while the rubber tube remained afloat within the nasal conjunctiva. Such modification helps the tube to reside within the nasal cavity without foreign body reactions and granulation tissue complications, and there is no need to change tubes in order to make up for the loss of tube length due to post operative tissue contracture. Between April 2000 and August 2001, the authors performed conjunctivodacryo cystorhinostomy with rubber-tipped Jones tube on 8 patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction, and obtained satisfactory results without complications.