ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the technical properties and clinical efficacy of bicanalicular silicone intubation using the Ritleng method in children with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction. METHODS: Thirty patients (34 eyes; mean age, 5+/-2.04 years; age range, 2-10 years) with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction underwent silicone intubation with the Ritleng lacrimal intubation system under endoscopic transnasal control. Removal of the silicone tube was planned 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: All patients were successfully intubated with the Ritleng system. One patient was lost to follow-up. We successfully evaluated the clinical results in 33 eyes of 29 patients. Stent removal in 29 of 33 eyes took place 6 months after surgery; in the other 4 eyes, the silicone tube was removed 7 to 10 months after surgery because the patients were late for their visits. One eye in which the tube had remained in place for 10 months developed a slit punctum. The mean follow-up after tube removal was 40.32+/-24.46 months (range, 12-96 months). The success rate measured as improvement of signs and symptoms of obstruction was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Bicanalicular silicone intubations with the Ritleng intubation system using an intranasal endoscope for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction is an easy, nontraumatizing procedure that yields a high rate of success.
