External Dacryocystorhinostomy: Local versus General Anesthesia

Purpose: to evaluate efficacy, complications, and patient satisfaction using local anesthesia (la), in comparison to with general anesthesia (ga) in external dacryocystorhinostomy (dcr)methods: in this prospective study, 149 patients with complete nasolacrimal duct (nld) obstruction who were candidates for external dcr were randomized in 2 groups: ga; 73 patients, and la; 76 patients. intraoperative bleeding, duration of surgery, postoperative complications and patient's satisfaction were recorded.results: mean intraoperative bleeding was 50.5±42.6 cc in the la group and 62.6±59.9 cc in the ga group (p=0.157). in terms of operation time, postoperative complications, and patient’s satisfaction no significant differences were noted between the 2 groups. our success rate was 100% at the third month follow up visit.conclusion: la in dcr is safe, comfortable, and high level of patient acceptance. intraoperative bleeding is less with la than ga although it was not statistically significant in our study.