Outcomes of External Dacryocystorhinostomy under General and Local Anesthetics in a Tertiary Clinic

INTRODUCTION: In our clinic, although we prefer to perform dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) under general anesthetics, we also perform it under local anesthetics for patients with a high risk of general anesthesia. Herein this study, we aimed to present our experiences in external DCR under both general and local anesthetics in a tertiary clinic.
METHODS: Medical records of the patients who had epiphora, were followed up in the oculoplastic section between January 2014 and December 2020 were collected. Patients who underwent external DCR were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: local and general anesthesia. All demographic characteristics of patients, previous DCR, history of dacryocystitis, surgery time, perioperative complications, and the American Society of Anaesthesiology (ASA) physical status score were recorded.
RESULTS: A total of 106 eyes from 82 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 57±24 years (range 18–89) and the median age was 56. Of 82 patients, 49 were female and 33 were male. 24 patients underwent bilateral external DCR. The mean surgery time for the general group and the local group was 66±12 min and 52±7 min, respectively. A significant difference was observed between the general and local groups in terms of the duration of the surgery (p=0.03). Of these, 11 patients underwent revision DCR during the follow-ups, and 7 patients were in the general group and 3 patients were in the local group. The overall success rate was 90%.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: External DCR surgery with both general and local anesthesia is a very effective technique for the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction. In addition, local anesthesia may be brought to mind as an option considering less bleeding, shorter discharge time, and cost-effectivity and also to avoid perioperative and postoperative systemic complications for patients with high risks of general anesthesia.