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What is punctumplasty?

Dr N Ananthakrishnan
Head of Department of Surgery,
JIPMER, Pondicherry

Q: What is punctumplasty?

A:Tears are produced by two glands situated near the eye called lacrimal glands. The function of tears is to prevent the eye from drying up. The tears are then drained through small openings at the inner angle of the eye called punctums through a duct which takes the tears to the nose. If this punctum is blocked then tears cannot drain into the nose and there will be the symptoms of eyes with overflowing tears. Punctum plasty is the method of restoring normal drainage of the excess tears into the nose. It is a relatively minor procedure.