An investigation into the efficacy of probing the nasolacrimal duct as a treatment for epiphora in adults.

An investigation was conducted into the efficacy of probing the nasolacrimal duct as a method for treating epiphora in adults. Probing was performed on patients who had complete obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct. These patients comprised 62 per cent of the total incidence of epiphora observed during the study period. Following a single probing procedure, watering was subjectively improved in 52 per cent of cases. When patients who had a mucocoele or mucous regurgitation were excluded, the improvement rate increased to 75 per cent. A single probing procedure would appear to have been effective in producing some symptomatic improvement when limited in its use to patients who had complete obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct and when watering of the eye was the only symptom. Such patients accounted for 37 per cent of cases of epiphora.