Adjunctive Punctal Re-Dilation for Early Postoperative Cicatrization after One-Snip Punctoplasty

INTRODUCTION: This was an assessment of one-snip punctoplasty outcomes in patients for whom adjunctive punctal re-dilatation was performed in-office for early postoperative cicatricial changes.
METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of patients who underwent one-snip punctoplasty between March 2019 and February 2020 due to acquired punctal stenosis. Patients were followed up on the first, third, and seventh postoperative day, then weekly for the remainder of the first month, every 2 weeks over the next month, and then monthly. Punctal re-dilatation was performed if patients showed early clinical signs of re-stenosis. Demographic details, the number and timing of re-dilatation procedures, the timing of re-stenosis, and anatomical and functional success rates were analyzed.
RESULTS: The medical records of 148 eyes of 86 patients were evaluated. A re-dilation procedure was performed in a total of 57 (38.5%) puncta showing signs of early cicatrization. The first punctal re-dilatation was performed at a mean of 17.2±11.3 days (range: 3–57 days). Re stenosis was observed in 25 puncta (16.9%) at a mean of 5.6±3.1 weeks (range: 2–16 weeks). The anatomical success rate was 83.1% and the functional success rate was 79.1%. There were no significant differences in the anatomical and functional success rates between the patients who did and did not need adjunctive redilatation.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In-office punctal re-dilatation may improve functional and anatomical success rates after one-snip punctoplasty by preventing recurrent punctal cicatrization.