Clinical Outcome of Conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy

Background and Objectives The conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy (CDCR) is rarely performed in epiphora, which is caused by complete proximal bicanalicular obstruction. The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics, clinical results and complications of patients who underwent CDCR.Subjects and Method We enrolled 12 patients who underwent CDCR due to proximal canalicular obstruction from 2006 to 2019. We retrospectively analyzed the causes of epiphora, trauma history, the cause of revision operation and the clinical outcome.Results A total of 12 patients (7 males and 5 females) underwent CDCR (mean age 46 years). The causes of trauma were such as laceration (n=7, 58%) and iatrogenic (n=1, 8%), idiopathic obstruction (n=4, 33%). After the initial surgery, 5 patients (41%) were categorized in good outcome and the Jones tube was located well in 6 (50%) patients. Revision surgery was performed in 6 (50%) cases, with 4 cases having good outcome. The success rate of CDCR, including revision surgery, was increased to 83%. Most common cause of revision surgery was tube migration. In addition, the subjective outcome in patients with traumatic causes were worse but it had no statistical significance compared to that of patients with idiopathic and iatrogenic causes (p=0.07).Conclusion About a half of the patients had good recovery rate after the initial operation. The outcome increased to 83% after revision operation. The success rate of CDCR for traumatic patients was worse than for those with idiopathic and iatrogenic causes. It seems that accompanied eyelid damage in traumatic patients may have affected the result of success rate.