Objective: The aim of this work is to compare the success rate of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy with and without bicanalicular silicone intubation.
Patients and Methods: This study included 56 eyes of 56 patients with unilateral NLDO. They were classified into two equal groups each included 28 eyes; group (1) was treated by endoscopic DCR with silicone tube stent and group (2) was treated by endoscopic DCR without stent.
Results: Comparison of postoperative outcome between the two groups showed that patients with silicone tube stent had better outcome than those without stenting but this difference was insignificant. Failure of the operation was observed in 2 cases in group (2) that required reoperation with stent and no failures in the group (1). Two cases of group (1) had tube cut during the operation and one case had fistula, while in group (2), two cases had adhesions of nasal wall (synechia) and required additional surgery. Postoperative bleeding was found in one case in group (1) and two cases in group (2), while granulation tissue was found in 3 cases in group (1) and two cases in group (2).
Conclusion: Endoscopic DCR with stent placement had a better result compared to the non-stent cases. However, the outcomes were nearly similar. Future studies are recommended on a large-scale cohort and longer follow-up.