Scarring in External Dacryocystorhinostomy: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

There was an excellent response rate for a single questionnaire. Patient satisfaction with the DCR scar is very high, with the majority considering the scar invisible. Only 3% remained unhappy with the scar. Overall patient satisfaction with external DCR is very high, for the majority of patients the procedure is effective, and 85% would recommend the operation.

The Practice of Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) Surgery by Ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom (UK)

“…Postal surveys can have problems due to a low response rate; often, three to four reminders are needed to achieve the 60% response rate required for any validity (Caesar et al, 2005). At 76%, our response rate for a single questionnaire survey is well above average (McAvoy & Kaner, 1996) and validates the results.…”

“…If performed correctly, it is associated with a reduced incidence of scarring or wound webbing (Caesar et al, 2005). This incision was consequently reported by the majority of lacrimal specialists and proportionately more so by BOPSS members.…”

UK survey of the present role of ear, nose and throat surgeons in lacrimal surgery

“…Often, reminders are needed to achieve the 60% response rate required for any validity. 4 Here we had a 66.7% response rate.…”

Aesthetic assessment in periciliary “v-incision” versus conventional external dacryocystorhinostomy in Asians

“…It has been used as a measuring tool for patient satisfaction after aesthetic procedures and in a study of minimum-incision no skin suture external DCR [10,29]. Nonetheless, a number of external DCR scar assessment studies only had subjective patient grading but without physician grading [3,10,30,31]. For those studies that included physician grading, they relied on a non-validated categorical grading scale based solely on whether the scar is invisible to very visible [8,9,[11][12][13]21].…”