Polypropylene in Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy: A Novel Stent

Endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is usually done in cases of lacrimal apparatus obstruction. The common causes of failure are that of obstruction in the common canaliculus and closure of the rhinostomy site. To overcome these problems we use stents. Stents most commonly used are that of silicon which are expensive and not readily available. As an alternative, polypropylene (Prolene; Ethicon) is used as a stent which is cheaper and readily available. This study is done to evaluate the clinical efficacy and results of stenting with polypropylene suture material in endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy. Fifty one endoscopic DCR operations were performed between July 2013 to December 2014. After creating an aperture in the medial wall of the lacrimal sac, 3/0 prolene was inserted from lower punctum to neo ostium. The prolene was left in the lacrimal sac for 3 weeks. The patients were followed up for 3 months. In our study, most of the patients belonged to the age group of 41–60 years (47%). There was female preponderance as 64.7% were females. 47 patients (92.2%) showed very good results. Two patients (3.9%) developed granuloma for which revision surgery was done. We lost 2 patients during follow up. This modification enables an easy, safe, effective and low-cost form of DCR. Prolene is cheaper and readily available. It might be used successfully in endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy and is promising alternative to silicone stent intubations, especially in settings with limited resources. © 2017, Association of Otolaryngologists of India.