Purpose of review: This study reviews the current body of literature with recent updates and briefly describes the powered endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) approach.
Recent findings: This review highlights recent studies including a meta-analysis of outcomes in DCR approaches, and compares each method to external DCR. When analyzed by method, endoscopic DCR with powered instrumentation success rates are comparable to the external approach, whereas the laser-assisted endoscopic DCR had a lower success rate. Additionally, several studies have demonstrated that long-term results in powered endoscopic DCR compare favorably with external approach in both primary and revision cases.
Summary: Endoscopic DCR with powered instrumentation is comparable to external DCR and also allows simultaneous adjunctive procedures while avoiding external scar. The powered endoscopic approach to DCR and methods to optimize success are described.