Placement of Silicone Tubes During Dacryocystorhinostomy

To the Editor. —Silicone tubes have improved the outcome in lacrimal surgery. Crawford1 and others2,3 have described nasolacrimal intubation using silicone tubes attached to stainless steel wire probes. The placement of these tubes during dacryocystorhinostomy has become routine.Retrieval of the wire probe from the nose may be a difficult maneuver. The Crawford hook, a grooved director, or a hemostat have all been used to accomplish this.We would like to suggest another method for directing the wire probe from the osteotomy site out of the external nare. We carry out the dacryocystorhinostomy in standard fashion until the posterior flaps have been sutured. We pass a Kilner No. 10 French suction tip up the nose on the operative side until it is visible in the osteotomy site anterior to the sutured flaps. The wire portion of the Crawford intubation set is passed down the canaliculus until it is