Clear patient instructions key to success for Jones tube placement

Key takeaways:

• Patients should monitor the position of their tube every morning.
• Squeezing the eyes closed while sneezing prevents the tube from being blown out.

KOLOA, Hawaii — The success of a Jones tube procedure relies on the surgeon’s ability to deliver clear instructions to the patient, according to a speaker at Hawaiian Eye 2025.

Roger A. Dailey, MD, FACS, said he has five main instructions for patients after he does a conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy with the placement of a Jones tube. First, when the patient has to sneeze or blow their nose, Dailey said it is important that they squeeze their eyes closed or press over the tube with their fingers so that the tube is not blown out of their eye.

He also provides patients with an artificial tear preparation and instructs them to “snuff” it through their nose twice per day after surgery. Additionally, Dailey said it is important that patients do not blow air out of their tube. Doing so could blow nasal substances onto the conjunctiva and cornea, he explained.

Regular cleaning is also key to success. Dailey said patients need to have their tube cleaned at 6 months after surgery, and then annually after the first cleaning.

Perhaps the most important instruction, Dailey said, is that patients need to monitor the position of their tube every morning.

“I tell them, ‘If that tube is moving in and out of sight or coming out a little bit, let me know,’” he said. “We can change the tube so that we don’t get any migration.”

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Sources/Disclosures

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Source:

Dailey RA. Tearing management with Jones tubing. Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2025; Jan. 18-24, 2025; Koloa, Hawaii.

Disclosures:
Dailey reports being a consultant for Amgen, Horizon, Johnson & Johnson and Viridian Therapeutics. He also reports being a shareholder in Biologic Aqua and a shareholder in and advisory board member for SKLIP.

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