Certain infants suffer from dirty watery eyes because a small membrane persists in the barely formed tear duct. In the absence of any other anatomical abnormality, passing a tiny probe through the duct usually solves the problem.
On the other hand, in the adult, watery eyes are almost always multi-factorial.
The tears may have an unsuitable composition, a sensitive eye, the surrounding atmosphere or irritating work... These “irritating” watery eyes are rarely helped by surgery.
Sometime however, your ophthalmologist will indicate lower eyelids that are too lax, or inversely directed, a tear punctum (small opening through which the tears pass into the drainage system) too narrow or badly positioned.
Certain eyelid or punctum surgery maybe eventually proposed.
But in the presence of an irritating component, their efficiency will be limited.
If the tear duct is blocked, surgery to deviate the blocked tears, directly into the nose through a small bony window may be proposed.
This “dacryocystorhinostomy” may prove necessary, both to reduce the watery eyes but also to limit the risk of secondary infection.
This is performed either from inside the nose (endonasal DCR), or by a small incision on the lateral face of the nose (external DCR)