SUMMARY
Cosmetic rhinoplasty and maxillary sinus surgery are rare causes of lacrimal obstruction. The lacrimal sac is quite vulnerable to damage by the lateral osteotomy of the rhinoplasty. While obstruction from such damage usually resolves in three months, these three cases illustrate the risk of persistent obstruction, particularly in complicated cases. The nasoantral window in the Caldwell-Luc may damage the distal lacrimal opening if it is placed too high, or made too large. Occasionally, the duct will extend more anterior and inferior and be quite vulnerable to damage by the nasal antrostomy.
SUMMARY
To prevent corneal damage, the central lid margin must have a normal skinconjunctiva interface following the lid reconstruction. A two-step procedure may be employed: In the lower lid an initial Hughes reconstruction should be tried. If this is unacceptable, a subsequent block excision of the segment is performed. The important step in both phases is a thorough lateral cantholysis. In the upper lid, the central defect is immediately reconstructed by sliding the lateral lid remnant to the medial remnant The resulting lateral defect is reconstructed with a Hughes procedure. In both cases, a physiologic lid margin is insured, because normal lid is sutured to normal lid.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.