Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare safety and efficacy of three snip punctoplasty versus bicanalicular silicone intubation in patients with primary punctal stenosis.
Patients and methods: This study included 40 eyes with primary punctal stenosis (lower punctum) who were classified into two groups according to the surgical correction technique; three snip punctoplasty (group 1) and bicanalicular silicone Intubation (group 2). All included cases were subjected to ophthalmic history taking and full ophthalmological examination including evaluation of the lacrimal tear strip, fluorescein dye disappearance test, syringing and degree of epiphora. Patients were assessed at one day, one week, one month, three month and six months postoperative for evaluation of silicone tube stability, patency of the punctum, lacrimal tear strip, fluorescein dye disappearance test and degree of epiphora.
Results: There was highly statistically significant improvement in the fluorescein dye disappearance test and grading of epiphora in the two groups starting from the first day postoperative. The incidence of patient satisfaction was higher in the silicone Intubation group, but it didn't reach a statistically significant value. Recurrence of epiphora was reported in two cases in group 1 and in 1 case only in group 2.
Conclusion: This study showed that bicanalicular silicone intubation was superior to three-snip punctoplasty for management of primary punctal stenosis.