A Modified Bicanalicular Crawford Placement Method for Congenital Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction: Reducing Need for Operative Room Removal.

PURPOSE: This study introduces a method for Crawford bicanalicular stent placement for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction by looping the ends to themselves which are tied together with dissolvable sutures to ease in-office removal. METHODS: This is a single institution, retrospective study that evaluates outcomes of patients aged 5 years and under who underwent bicanalicular stenting for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction by a single surgeon (G.S.E.) between 2004 and 2020. Only primary surgeries were included in the analysis. Stenting could be accompanied by balloon dilatation and/or turbinate infracture. Age, sex, follow-up time, complications, type of intervention, extrusion, recurrence, and operative room removal were recorded. RESULTS: This study included 56 eyes from 54 patients with a mean age of 19.0 ± 9.5 months (range, 8-50 months). There was a 30.3% extrusion rate, a 5.4% rate of recurrence of disease, and a 3.6% rate of operative room removal. The average follow-up time was 25.1 ± 39.8 months (range, 1-132 months). For patients with or without extrusion, there were no significant differences between age, sex, laterality, type of intervention, follow-up time, or rate of recurrence. Each eye that had recurrence (3 total) or needed operative room removal (2 total) underwent only bicanalicular stenting without accompanying procedures, although the difference in rates between procedures was also not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This method had a low recurrence and operative room removal rate, with similar extrusion and complication rates to other bicanalicular stent and intubation methods for the treatment of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

The posterior auricular muscle complex graft as a porous orbital implant wrap: long-term follow-up over a 31-year period.

PURPOSE: Orbital implant exposures, infections, and extrusions can occur many years following enucleation or evisceration. This study analyzes complication rates following porous orbital implant wrapped with a posterior auricular muscle complex graft (PAMCG). METHODS: This is a retrospective study of patients who underwent orbital implantation following enucleation using this technique between 1992 and 2013. Only cases with a minimum of 18 months of follow-up were included. No patients underwent peg implantation. Patient's demographics, follow-up time, type of implant, complications including wound dehiscence, exposure, postoperative infection, and extrusion were recorded. RESULTS: This study included 36 orbits of 36 patients with a mean age of 39.3 ± 23.2 years (range, 3-84 years). Thirty patients had hydroxyapatite implants and six had porous polyethylene. The average follow-up time was 12.6 ± 5.6 years (range, 1.5-31.0 years). There were no implant extrusions, and only one exposure resulting in orbital infection that necessitated implant removal (2.8%). CONCLUSION: Wrapping porous orbital implants with PAMCG had favorable long-term outcomes over a thirty-one-year period.