Question:medium

Dacryocystorhinostomy involves?

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The suffix -stomy means making a new opening between the sac and the nose.
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
  • Opening up the terminal blocked end of nasolacrimal duct
  • Connecting the lacrimal sac to nose by breaking the medial wall
  • Complete excision of lacrimal sac
  • Insertion of drainage tube in the lacrimal sac
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Read the Greek roots - dacryocyst (tear sac) + rhino (nose) + stomy (opening). The operation makes a shortcut for tears from the sac straight into the nasal cavity, sidestepping a diseased nasolacrimal duct.

Step 2: Technically the surgeon nibbles away the medial bony wall that lies between the lacrimal sac and the nose, then sutures the opened sac to the nasal mucosa at the level of the middle meatus. Either an external skin incision or an endoscopic endonasal route can be used.

Step 3: Why prefer it over simply taking out the sac (dacryocystectomy)? Because DCR restores tear flow, so the patient is not left with a permanently watering eye. It is the treatment for chronic dacryocystitis and acquired or congenital duct obstruction.

Step 4: The other choices are wrong - merely opening the lower duct, removing the whole sac, or pushing in a tube are not what DCR means. The defining act is joining sac to nose through the broken medial wall.

\[\boxed{\text{Connecting the lacrimal sac to nose by breaking the medial wall}}\]
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