Clinical observation of external dacryocystorhinostomy without packing anastomosis cavity

AIM: To find an efficient and simple surgical procedure of the external dacryocystorhinostomy(EXT- DCR)in the treatment of chronic dacryocystitis.METHODS: A total of 270 cases were performed in this retrospective study. A comparison of clinical effects and hemorrhage complications between the experimental group, in which 189 eyes of 167 patients that underwent traditional EXT-DCR without packing, and the control group, in which 121 eyes of 103 patients that underwent traditional EXT-DCR with Vaseline gauze were performed. The postoperative follow-up ranged from 6 to 36mo(the mean follow-up was 15±3.6mo).RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the curative rates between the two groups(97.9% vs 97.5%, P>0.05). But the incidence rate of moderate or severe postoperative nasal bleeding was lower in the experimental group(15.9%, 30 eyes)than the control group(31.4%, 38 eyes)and P