DacryoCath® Lacrimal Irrigating Balloon Catheter 2 mm & 3 mm balloons

Dacryocystoplasty (DCP)

USE OF THE IRRIGATING FUNCTION: aids in localization of the DacryoCath® irrigating lacrimal duct catheter

• Irrigate through the irrigation port to feel the rate of flow prior to using the DacryoCath®
• Place the deflated balloon catheter down the nasolacrimal duct to the nasal floor in the same fashion as a probe
• Attach a syringe with fluorescein -stained fluid to the irrigating port
• Fluorescein-stained fluid (the fluorescein color should be intense) is irrigated through the catheter and recovered in the nose with a #8 soft suction catheter.  The fluid should easily flow through the irrigation channel and a large volume should be suctioned from the nasal cavity.  This indicates that the DacryoCath® has penetrated all obstructions and entered the nasal cavity.
• Withdraw and reinsert the DacryoCath® if the fluorescein-stained fluid does easily irrigate through the catheter and a large volume is not suctioned out the nose.
  
• The physician must use his or her clinical judgment to determine the location of the catheter.