Three-snip punctoplasy with everting interrupted sutures versus three-snip punctoplasty with mini-Monoka stent for management of punctal stenosis (prospective comparative study)

Abstract

Purpose To compare the results of three-snip punctoplasty with the placement of three everting interrupted sutures versus three-snip punctoplasty with mini-Monoka stent in managing punctual stenosis. Patients and methods Fifty adult patients underwent three-snip punctoplasty with three everting interrupted sutures in one eye (right eye) (group A), and the other eye (left eye) (group B) underwent three-snip punctopasty with mini-Monoka stent. The sutures and stent were removed 6 weeks after the surgery. Epiphora, punctal opening, tear height meniscus, fluorescein and disappearance test results were analyzed and compared to preoperative information. Results Hundred eyes of 50 patients with a median age of 59 years, and females accounted for 56% of the sample. Anatomical and functional success in the right eye (group A) was 87.8 and 85.7%, respectively. On the other hand, the left eye (group B) anatomical and functional success were 89.7 and 87.7%, respectively. Regarding epiphora, there was a statistically significant difference between presurgical and postsurgical follow-up examinations in both right and left groups regarding Munk score. Tear Meniscus Height (TMH) decreased all through the follow-up visits between the two groups, almost to half, with no significant difference between both groups. Conclusion Both three-snip punctoplasty with everting sutures and three-snip punctoplasty with mini-Monoka stent are successful techniques in the management of punctal stenosis.

Keywords

• epiphora; mini-monoka stent; punctal stenosis; three-snip punctoplasty