DCR surgery should never be the first line of defense in epiphora treatment. In fact, it should never be the second or third, either. It should be dead last in the list. Only when every other method has been utilized exhaustively should such a drastic procedure be considered, and only then after the patient has been fully informed about the how a DCR is performed and what the risks are. Sparing details here is no different from flat-out lying. A lie by omission is still a lie. Lying to patients about the details of a medical procedure is about as unethical as it gets. Continue reading »

(Please see my original post on DCR alternatives if you haven’t already.)

Here is a list of some additional studies supporting alternative or at least precursors to DCR surgery. This is by no means a complete collection of relevant studies, but it’s a solid foundation for your further research. One of the most common lines you’ll hear from a doctor looking to write off something he or she is ignorant of is this: ‘You can’t base your practices on a single study.’ Yes, this is true. A single study doesn’t prove much. But we’re not looking at a single study. When this list was originally complied (2007), there were already dozens and dozens of studies. As of this writing, fives years later, there are even more. The research is solid. Doctors can’t keep on ignoring the facts. Continue reading »