Preloaded Monoka (Lacrijet) and congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction: Initial results

Summary Study objective To study the performance of a pre-loaded Monoka stent in the management of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO). Study design Non-randomized study of consecutive cases. Materials and methods A preloaded classic Monoka silicone stent contained entirely inside its introducer (Lacrijet) was used to treat a consecutive series of subjects with CNLDO over an 11-month period (May 2019–March 2020). Only subjects with chronic symptomatic CNLDO were included. Subjects with intermittent tearing, canalicular pathology, trisomy 21, facial cleft, or history of lacrimal surgery were excluded. Intraoperative findings were recorded, including the degree and location of the nasolacrimal obstruction, successful metal to metal contact with the probe, any difficulties encountered by the Lacrijet device itself, procedure duration, tolerability of the fixation punctal plug, and finally, inspection of the stent after withdrawal of the inserter. Functional success was defined as disappearance of all symptoms of epiphora. Results A total of 45 preloaded Monoka Lacrijet stents (Lcj) were placed consecutively in 38 children. The mean age was 27.9 months (12–78 months). The mean procedural duration was 2.8 minutes (range: 1–10 min). The overall success with disappearance of all symptoms of epiphora was 88.8% (40/45). Surgery in cases of simple mucosal stenosis was successful in 92.2% (35/38) of cases, with a mean follow-up time of 7.9 months (range: 1 to 12 months). The duration of stent intubation was for this group was 32 days (range: 1–103). The surgical outcomes for the other 7 cases with more complex intraoperative findings are summarized in the publication. All withdrawn probes were intact. Conclusions The Lacrijet stent system is a simple and reliable pushed intubation device for CNLDO in appropriately selected cases where bony stenosis of the canal is minimal.