Secondary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction after radioiodine therapy

Secondary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction after radioiodine therapy is a comparatively rare complication but it requires treatment at an early stage. The symptoms of secondary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction are tearing, eye redness, discharge at ocular surface, a mass growing at lacrimal sac site. The considered complication occurs after radioiodine therapy in dose of 150 mCi, the rate of occurrence is dose-dependent. There are no clinical guidelines for preventing this complication but there are reports of nasolacrimal duct preventive intubation and those about developing new drug agents that block an action of the protein that uptakes iodine in the nasolacrimal duct mucosa. For diagnosing, special diagnostic procedures and an ophthalmologist consultation are required. For the correction of this complication, conservative treatment (with low efficacy) and special surgical treatment are used, including nasolacrimal duct recanalization with different techniques and anastomosis between nasolacrimal duct and nasal cavity formation. In cases of early patient encounter, it is possible to use more functional and less invasive surgical techniques, in cases of late encounter, more invasive surgical techniques are used.