I am just healing up (2 1/2 weeks out) from having DCR surgery to correct blocked tear ducts in each eye. My condition of blocked tear ducts which caused excessive tearing was a problem that came on slowly. As best as I can recall, the tearing started nearly 5 years ago. I would be in a conversation with friends or making a business presentation and unexpectedly, large tear drops would overflow my eyes and hit my cheeks. It didn't happen often at first and I guess I always figured my eyes were reacting to makeup, contacts, dry heat - never once did I think that I actually had an abundance of tears that could not drain. My boss told me that I didn't blink enough, friends and co-workers insisted that I probably had some type of allergy, I decided that I could live with it and so I did. One year turned into two, my life suddenly got hectic between work and family, and by the third year, the incidental tearing had become a regular problem. I found myself experiencing chronic tearing and considerately moist eyes that affected my ability to keep my contacts clean. Optometrists were no help - they would confirm that my eyes had layers of tears that wouldn't drain and generally all wanted to treat me for "dry eyes". I tried drops, I changed types of contacts, I changed contact solutions, I used hot compresses for days on end, I stopped wearing mascara. Nothing reduced the tearing...in fact, the amount and occasion of uncontrolled tearing increased steadily. My medical doctor determined that the problem was not allergies or a treatable medical condition and finally in the fourth year referred me to an Ophthalmologist. After a considerable wait to get in to see the Ophthalmologist, I had my first in-depth discussion with an eye expert. After a thorough exam, she finally advised that she was going to try to dilate the tear duct openings, and next thing I knew, she had a metal probe in her hands and was advising me to lean back and try not to move. She then proceeded to poke into one of my tear ducts and apply more and more pressure to the point that I simply couldn't stand it anymore. It wasn't that painful, but felt like a bee sting that wouldn't end, as long as she was probing. I just couldn't take it for long periods of time. Finally she advised that she wasn't able to go deep enough with her probe and that it might be best if she had me come back and she would sedate me next visit so she could be more aggressive. I agreed to make a follow-up appointment. Unfortunately that appointment never came. I had a death in the family and my personal situation changed, including a move from one state to another, I finally began the process anew earlier this year with a local Ophthalmologist. My new eye doctor wanted to do the same type of probing that the first one had tried, only this time, she numbed my eyes before attempting to probe. She also attempted to use a syringe to shoot a yellow solution through the tear duct, but was unsuccessful in getting it through either eye. After a few more tests, she finally diagnosed blocked lacrimal sacs and explained that she was going to refer me to an orbital plastic surgeon to discuss the option of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) surgery. I met with Dr. Kevin Michael of Spokane, WA, in early May. Despite the referral from my Ophthalmologist, he went through his own process of probing, trying to push a syringe of solution through my tear ducts, etc., before determining that indeed I did have complete blockage in both tear ducts. He said that I had a couple of options for surgical correction, but his suggestion was that I undergo external DCR, starting with one eye and following up after that one healed to correct the other. After we discussed what the surgery would entail, I advised Dr. Michael that I would prefer to have both eyes done in the same surgery; especially since the surgery involved anesthesia. Although he expressed concern about trying to do them both in the same procedure ("That's a lot of surgery..."), I was adamant that I preferred to have it done that way. He finally agreed and we worked out a surgical date well in advance, agreeing on early September. In the meantime, Dr. Michael had me use steroid drops in both eyes and asked me to advise immediately if I noticed any change in my tearing. No change occurred.
Throughout the summer, I couldn't resist going online and researching this surgery that I was about to undergo and I can truly say what I read by others who had been through it and watching a YouTube video of a similar surgical procedure (I suggest you refrain from doing that!) - all which scared me completely and made me doubt my decision to go ahead with the surgery. I had started to talk myself into thinking the tearing wasn't so bad, but then as I got through the day with constant wiping of my eyes, and blurred vision from the layer of tears laying on my contacts, I knew I needed to do this and hoped for the best.
I was advised to quit taking my low dose aspirin two weeks prior to surgery, and to stop my blood pressure med, vitamins and other nutritional supplements no later than the day prior to surgery.
