Long term effectiveness of interventional polyurethane stent placement for nasolacrimal duct obstruction / 介入放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the safety、feasibility and the long-term effectiveness of polyurethane stent placement for treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Methods Fifty-three cases (64 eyes) with complete nasolacrimal duct obstruction received the lacrimal stent placement. Dacryocystography was performed before and after the procedure. The average follow-up period was 48.3 months (range, 13-78months), the long-term patency and the effectiveness after stents removal were analyzed. Results Stent placement was technically successful in 62eyes, and the success rate was 96.9% with no severe complications. On long-term follow up, the stent patency rate was 76.8% at 1 year. However, it decreased to 33.3% at 3 years and 28.6% at 5 years. Nine stents were removed when the symptoms recurred, including granulation tissue in 4 stents and mucous material in 5. After removal, 2 nasolacrimal ducts were patent, and 2 kept patent after stents replacement, but all reoccluded within 6 months. Conclusions Interventional placement of polyurethane stent in the obstructed nasolacrimal duct is a simple and safe outpatient procedure, but the long-term patency is not encouraging, and the right stent removal time has not yet been approved.