Tear Duct Surgery

'Watery Eyes' are very debilitating, often affect vision and interfere with daily activities. Tear Duct Surgery can offer relief from watery eyes and other eye irritations.

There are many causes of a watery eye. An important distinction must be made between genuine epiphora (where tears regularly drop down onto cheek or splatter glasses) which indicates and obstruction to flow or drainage of tears and eyes that are watery in certain conditions but rarely drip down the cheek or face. Watery eyes where tears don’t commonly drip down the face are commonly caused by an irritant to the eye such as dry eyes or ocular surface conditions including blepharitis. All watery eyes regardless of cause are worse in windy conditions.

Pumping of tears toward the tear duct may be impaired where there is eyelid laxity or malposition.

Anatomical obstruction is most commonly secondary to a blocked tear duct as it passes into the nose but can be due to a blockage anywhere along the tear duct system from the eyelid to the distal duct in the nose.

Tear duct obstruction at any level may be congenital or acquired. In acquired cases, a cause is seldom found but may on occasion be secondary to severe conjunctivitis, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, certain eye drops or trauma.

Please refer to the FAQ's for more detail on Watery Eyes and DCR Surgery.

FAQ's