Dacryocystorhinostomy in patients lacking an ipsilateral nasal cavity.

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) remains the surgery of choice for the treatment of epiphora secondary to nasolacrimal duct (NLD) obstruction. It involves creating a direct soft-tissue anastomosis between the lacrimal sac and the ipsilateral nasal cavity, via an osteotomy created by removal of the floor of the lacrimal fossa and surrounding bone. Successful surgery clearly requires the presence of a nasal space and absence of this poses a surgical challenge. We describe three patients with absent nasal cavity on the side of lacrimal obstruction, where DCR was performed by the creation of an anastomosis between the lacrimal sac and the contralateral nasal space.