Indian journal of ophthalmology
August 31, 2026 · via Europe PMC
A novel technique of rhinostomy size assessment by immersion b-scan probe following dacryocystorhinostomy - A comparative study.
Mane S, Prabhakar SK, Malini MB, Sandeep S.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
In a prospective comparative study of 50 patients, external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) produced a larger surgical ostium and better functional outcomes than endoscopic DCR, measured using a novel immersion B-scan ultrasound technique.
What was studied
A prospective comparative study of 50 patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction undergoing external (n=25) or endoscopic (n=25) dacryocystorhinostomy, measuring postoperative ostium dimensions (length, width, area) at days 15, 30, and 90 using immersion B-scan ultrasonography, and correlating these with functional patency via the fluorescein dye disappearance test.
Key findings
- At 3 months, the external DCR group had a larger ostium (length 11.66 ± 2.12 mm, width 7.09 ± 1.28 mm, area 78.91 ± 24.47 mm²) compared to the endoscopic group (length 9.84 ± 0.88 mm, width 6.46 ± 1.14 mm, area 58.95 ± 16.25 mm²).
- The exact p-value for this comparison was not legible in the provided abstract text; the conclusion states external DCR resulted in a larger ostium and better functional patency than endoscopic DCR.
Clinical relevance
The findings suggest immersion B-scan ultrasonography is a feasible, noninvasive way to track ostium healing after DCR, and that external DCR may yield a larger, more patent ostium than the endoscopic approach, which may be relevant to surgical technique selection and postoperative monitoring.
Who should care
Limitations
This was a single-center study with modest sample size (25 patients per group); the abstract does not report long-term symptomatic outcomes beyond the 90-day assessment.
A new ultrasound-based technique showed external DCR produces a larger, better-functioning surgical opening than endoscopic DCR at 3 months.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Purpose
To measure and compare the ostium size following external and endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) using an innovative, noninvasive immersion B-scan ultrasonography technique and to correlate ostium dimensions with functional patency assessed by the fluorescein dye disappearance test (FDDT).
Methods
This prospective comparative study included 50 patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction who underwent either external (n = 25) or endoscopic DCR (n = 25) between September 2022 and February 2024. Intraoperative ostium size was measured using Castroviejo's calipers for external DCR and Schirmer's strips for endoscopic DCR. Postoperative ostium dimensions (length, width, and area) were assessed on days 15, 30, and 90 using an immersion B-scan probe. Functional patency was evaluated by FDDT. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and multilinear regression.
Results
The mean age was 54.9 ± 13.26 years in the external DCR group and 51.76 ± 13.79 years in the endoscopic group, with female predominance (78%). At 3 months, the external DCR group showed a significantly larger ostium size (length: 11.66 ± 2.12 mm; width: 7.09 ± 1.28 mm; area: 78.91 ± 24.47 mm 2 ) compared to the endoscopic group (length: 9.84 ± 0.88 mm; width: 6.46 ± 1.14 mm; area: 58.95 ± 16.25 mm 2 ) ( P < 0.05). External DCR demonstrated superior functional patency with an FDDT sensitivity of 91% and better F1 scores throughout follow-up.
Conclusion
Immersion B-scan ultrasonography is a reliable, noninvasive tool for postoperative assessment of ostium dimensions. External DCR results in a larger ostium size and better functional patency than endoscopic DCR.
DOI
10.4103/ijo.ijo_2956_24
PMID
42671094
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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