Symptoms

If there is any blockage in your tear duct, it makes the tears to drain from your eye into the nasal cavity. Due to this issue, there will be huge amounts of tears dripping. This condition is called epiphora. If there is a blockage in your tear duct system, you may feel pain, pus, or redness.

Diagnosis

Nasolacrimal Duct stenosis can be diagnosed through medical imaging. This process is done in outpatient centers. The medical imaging method which will be used may even help the doctor to see the reason for the obstruction or stenosis and determine the severity of the condition. In this process, the patient is put under local anesthesia, and medical imaging is performed to diagnose stenosis.

Treatment

There are two methods available for the treatment of this disease. One is surgery, and the other is minimally invasive techniques. Both of these treatment options are performed as outpatient processes and are done under local anesthesia. If the patient wants to go under the surgical process, it implies that he will have a Dacryocystorhinostomy. It is a surgical process in which the surgeon creates a new lacrimal duct.

If you choose minimally invasive processes, your physician or radiologist will use interventional radiology to treat the stenosis and offer relief from excessive tears and pain.

One of the interventional radiology techniques involves the use of a balloon that is inserted in the duct to expand the area. Your radiologist will also use a mesh metal tube to support the structure of the duct during the treatment procedure. Later on, your radiologist will continue with the insertion of a catheter from the edge of the patient’s eye and into the affected tear duct. All of the treatment procedure is performed with the help of medical imaging to get the needed guidance. Finally, the radiologist will use a guidewire and insert a tiny balloon in the obstructed duct. Once the balloon is expanded, the duct is opened, and stenosis is treated effectively.

Dr Nikolas Charalambous is named among the most prominent interventional radiologist. Get a free consultation for a minimally invasive treatment of brain, neck, and spine.