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Although many types of conjunctival infections in neonates are relatively inconsequential, chlamydial, gonococcal, and herpes simplex infections can cause permanent ocular damage and serious systemic complications. These specific causes are discussed along with silver nitrate conjunctivitis, staphylococcal infections, and nasolacrimal duct obstructions.
The management of failed probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction is given by a panel of authors. Treatment options examined are repeat probing, inferiorturbinate infracture, closed lacrimal intubation and dacryocystorhinostomy. There is considerable variation as to the timing of these interventional techniques.
This report outlines several of the more important abnormalities of the lacrimal system in infants and young children. Although rare, alacrima can be a very difficult clinical problem to treat. The most common cause of alacrima is the Riley-Day syndrome. Nasolacrimal duct obstruction is a very common anomaly in children. The clinical appearance and treatment of this disorder are discussed.
This review covers evolving concepts in lacrimal outflow obstruction. Recent studies have increased our understanding of the surgical anatomy and pathophysiology of the lacrimal drainage system through radiologic, clinical, and microbiologic techniques. While external dacryocystorhinostomy remains an important treatment for nasolacrimal duct obstruction, there have been a number of therapeutic developments worthy of review, including advances in endoscopic and transcanalicular dacryocystorhinostomy, conjunctivodacryocystorhinostomy, and the use of mitomycin C in these procedures. In addition, we summarize recent advances in minimally invasive techniques for lacrimal outflow obstruction, including balloon dacryocystoplasty, lacrimal stents, and conjunctivoplasty. Finally, the roles of probing versus irrigation, nasal endoscopy, and endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy in children are discussed.
The special silicone tube (50-120 mm in length) consists of three pieces. One piece is the thinner central segment [20-40 mm long, 0.64 mm outer diameter (OD), 0.30 mm inner diameter (ID)], and the other two are thicker bilateral segments (10-50 mm long, 0.94 mm OD, 0.51 mm ID). Both ends of the three-piece silicone tubing (TPST) were sealed by the silastic medical adhesive with or without the silicone rod (2 mm long, 0.5 mm diameter) and diagonally cut to taper the end. To push the TPST from the upper and lower puncta into the lacrimal passage, a thin metal probe (0.4-0.6 mm diameter) was inserted into both sides of the tube through a small cut. In this new technique, there is no difficult procedure of retrieving the tip of a metal probe from the nasal cavity. The TPST requires no suture to secure it in position. The success rates were 63.6% (7/11), 100% (5/5) and 50% (1/2) for nasolacrimal-duct obstruction, canalicular obstruction, and canalicular and nasolacrimal-duct obstructions, respectively (follow-up: 3.4-12 months, mean 5.3 months).
Silicone tube intubations were performed on 36 cases of congenital nasolacrimal obstruction and on three children with traumatic canalicular lacerations. The success rates of 84% in congenital nasolacrimal duct obstructions, 54% in congenital punctal-canalicular obstructions, and 100% in canalicular lacerations and the minimal complications encountered suggest that silicone intubations in the pediatric population are useful in avoiding dacryocystorhinostomy and conjunctivo-dacryocystorhinostomy.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether organized mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is a normal component of the human efferent tear ducts or is acquired in reaction to chronic inflammation. DESIGN: Nonrandomized comparative (cadaver controlled) study with histopathologic correlations. MATERIALS: Tissue specimens from nasolacrimal ducts of 38 patients undergoing endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy in postinflammatory dacryostenosis with signs of chronic inflammation were analyzed using histologic examination and immunohistochemical studies. Only tissue specimens revealing proliferative sclerotic forms of chronic fibrosis were chosen for the study. Eighty specimens from the lacrimal systems of body donors served as controls. TESTING: Tissue specimens from each lacrimal system were prepared and processed with paraffin, sectioned, stained using different histologic methods with an array of specific antibodies, and examined by light microscopy. MAIN OUTCOME PARAMETERS: The distribution of intraepithelial and subepithelial defense cells was analyzed to identify plasma cells, secretory immunoglobulins, lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and organized mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. RESULTS: The presence of secretory immunoglobulin A was demonstrated in subepithelial plasma cells and in the cytoplasm of apical epithelial cells in both chronically inflamed and healthy lacrimal systems. In more than one third of cases from body donors, but in only a few biopsy specimens from patients, organized lymphoid tissue was found with the cytomorphologic and immunophenotypical features of MALT. All other cases showed a diffuse infiltrate of defense cells within the lamina propria. CONCLUSIONS: The development of tear duct-associated lymphoid tissue (TALT) is a common feature that is often found in symptomatically normal nasolacrimal ducts. Because TALT seems to be lost associated with the scarring of symptomatic dacryostenosis, it is unlikely that the presence per se of TALT leads to scarring. Future studies are needed to explain the development of TALT.
Balloon catheter dilatation was performed in five children with nasolacrimal duct obstruction who had failed probing or silicone intubation, or who were 6 years of age or older. A patent lacrimal system was achieved in four of these children. Balloon catheter dilatation may offer an alternative to silicone intubation in children with nasolacrimal duct obstruction who fail probing or who are at least 2 years old.
For reconstruction of lacrimal drainage after injury of tumour resection indications, surgical technique and results of five surgical procedures are presented: primary suture with splinting, conjunctivorhinostomy, endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy, Heermann tube and mobilisation of nasolacrimal duct. Performing these techniques, solitary or in combination, one achieves almost a good lacrimal drainage. The results of our retrospective study are based upon a combination of subjective and objective findings. Success rate was 96% for direct suturing of the tear ducts with intubation, 100% for conjunctivorhinostomy, 96% for endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy in case of postsaccal stenosis, 83% for Heermann/Jones tube and 100% for relocation of the nasolacrimal duct.
Linear compartmental analysis was applied to lacrimal scintigraphy data from asymptomatic and obstructed lacrimal systems. Failure to achieve satisfactory results in most of the asymptomatic systems studied suggests that variable tear flow is a feature of normal lacrimal drainage which precludes linear analysis. However, in cases where the analysis was successful the results were consistent with the occurrence of reflux between the conjunctival and lacrimal sacs, and between the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct. Further support for the existence of reflux between compartments was provided by the analysis of obstructed systems, particularly those with obstruction at the upper end of the nasolacrimal duct. In such cases there was rapid equilibrium of the tracer between the conjunctival and lacrimal sacs, which in the absence of tear flow could be explained by reflux between these 2 compartments.
The causes of stenosis in the area of the nasolacrimal duct in adults are extremely variable. In general, the symptoms may vary, but most cases exhibit a common factor of circumstances in the prestenotic area which favor recurring inflammation. The treatment of these disorders is limited to either a conservative therapeutic approach to control inflammation, or surgically invasive measures. By using balloon catheters, which are usually applied in PTCA (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty), dilatation of the relative postsaccal stenosis is obtained with the assistance of radiography. An exact diagnosis by means of various testing methods, including digital dacryocystography for the detailed localization and documentation of any pathological changes, is decisive for success. Only in cases of incomplete, postsaccal stenosis is retrograde balloon dilation of the distal nasolacrimal duct incated. The guide wire, designed for the PTCA balloon catheter set, is introduced via the canaliculus to the nasal cavity antegradely and caught with a thin hook and pulled from the naris. This is done under visual control using an image converter. The balloon catheter is retrogradely threaded over the guide wire. The balloon is then placed at the site of the pathological stenosis under X-ray control and dilated with high pressure. To assure permeability of the system, a monocanalicular silicone intubation has to be made immediately following this procedure. This procedure has been performed successfully on six patients; Follow-up time ranged from 6 to 22 months. The initial results are encouraging and sustain hope that this minimally invasive, interdisciplinary technique represents a new alternative in the treatment of incomplete, postsaccal lacrimal stenosis.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of balloon dilation for the treatment of congenital lacrimal system obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fluoroscopically guided balloon dilation was attempted in 20 eyes of 16 patients with an age range of 12-78 months (mean, 33 mo) for congenital lacrimal system obstruction. Fifteen eyes had complete obstruction at the valve of Hasner, three eyes had completely obstruction at the junction between the lacrimal sac and the nasolacrimal duct, and two eyes had partial obstruction at the nasolacrimal duct. Under general anesthesia, a ball-tipped guide wire was introduced through the superior punctum into the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity and pulled out through the naris with use of a hook. A deflated 3-mm-diameter balloon catheter was then advanced in a retrograde direction and the balloon was dilated. Every patient underwent an ophthalmic evaluation before the procedure and was scheduled to be followed with office examination at 1, 3, and 6 months after the procedure. RESULTS: There were no major complications. "Technical success" was defined as free passage of contrast medium through the entire lacrimal system to the nasal cavity. The procedure failed in one eye. After balloon dilation, all 19 eyes in which technical success was achieved showed improvement of epiphora. During the follow-up period of 2-33 months (mean, 16 mo), all eyes maintained improvement of epiphora and needed no further treatment. CONCLUSION: Balloon dilation is a safe and effective therapeutic technique for the treatment of congenital lacrimal system obstruction.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Conjunctivochalasis, a secondary cause of the watery eye, is frequently seen in the older age group as an elevation of the bulbar conjunctiva lying along the lateral or central lower lid margin. A prospective, interventional, case-controlled clinical and histopathological study was conducted. The relevant features of 18 patients (29 eyes) who had their conjunctivochalasis resected as part of the surgical management of their watery eye syndrome were examined. In the control group, tissue was obtained from an age matched series of 24 normal subjects undergoing routine cataract surgery. METHODS: 24 controls (24 specimens) and 18 patients (29 specimens) had conjunctival strip biopsies, taken from the usual lid margin level bulbar conjunctiva in line with the inferior limbus (controls), and the clinically apparent conjunctivochalasis (patients). These were submitted for histological study. RESULTS: 23 of 24 control sections demonstrated normal conjunctival variation. Four of 29 patient specimens demonstrated a chronic non-granulomatous conjunctivitis, while three eyes of the patient group (two patients) demonstrated features of elastosis. Of the four patients who had the inflammatory infiltrates, three had functional nasolacrimal duct obstructions (FNLDOs) and one had a primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction (PANDO). Of the two patients who had elastosis, one had an FNLDO and the other had normal lacrimal drainage and was Jones 1 positive. CONCLUSION: Six of 18 patients--that is, seven of 29 specimens of conjunctivochalasis demonstrated signs of elastosis or of chronic non-granulomatous inflammation. Clinically, patients had a spectrum of aetiologies of their watery eye syndrome.
The main types of maxillary cysts are antral mucoceles, retention cysts, pseudocysts, dentigerous cysts and keratocysts. Despite the theoretical possibility of maxillary sinus cysts leading to nasolacrimal duct obstruction, only two cases have been reported in the literature so far. The present authors report this rare presentation of a dentigerous cyst with a tooth in the roof of the maxillary sinus, which led to nasolacrimal duct obstruction.
A 17-year-old girl with right-sided epiphora and a lacrimal sac mass was found radiologically to have marked enlargement of her lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct and mucosal thickening of her right nasal turbinates and maxillary, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses. Biopsy specimens from all these sites showed chronic inflammatory infiltrates with a predominant population of large phagocytic histiocytes, some of which had engulfed lymphocytes and plasmacytes. The results of a systemic workup were normal. This is the first reported case, to our knowledge, of sinus histiocytosis involving the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct as an extranodal focus.
UNLABELLED: PURPOSE; To investigate the underlying causes of acquired external punctal stenosis (AEPS) and assess the associated tear drainage problems. DESIGN: Prospective, noncomparative observational case series. METHODS: Seventy-eight eyes of 52 patients with symptomatic AEPS were prospectively assessed by or under supervision of a consultant oculoplastic surgeon from June 1999 to October 2002. The severity of the stenosis was graded on clinical examination. Associated findings from ophthalmic examination, diagnostic probing, and irrigation were recorded. The chi(2) test with 95% confidence interval (CI) and the Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The age range was 39 to 90 years (mean, 69.4 years). Acquired external punctal stenosis was due to chronic blepharitis in 35 eyes (45%), unknown etiology in 21 eyes (27%), ectropion in 18 eyes (23%), and related to drugs in 4 eyes (5%). Associated canalicular stenosis and common canalicular stenosis with obstruction (at the level of the internal punctum) was found in 36 eyes (46%) with AEPS. Nasolacrimal duct stenosis (5 eyes) or obstruction (2 eyes) was found in 8.5%. The number of patients with associated canalicular and common canalicular stenosis increased with increasing age (95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.03-0.04, P =.03) and duration of symptoms (95% CI = 0.02-0.03, P =.02). The number of patients with associated nasolacrimal duct stenosis and obstruction increased with increasing age (95% CI = 0.000- 0.001, P =.001) and in AEPS with unknown etiology (95% CI = 0.004-0.006, P =.003). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic blepharitis is a common cause of AEPS even after treating the blepharitis, but in a significant number of patients there is no apparent etiology. Associated upper and lower tear drainage stenosis should be considered in the preoperative evaluation and surgical plan for AEPS.
PURPOSE: To determine the structure and function of a system of large blood vessels integrated in the bony canal between the orbit and the inferior nasal duct. METHODS: Thirty-one dissected lacrimal systems of adults were analyzed by using gross anatomy, histology, and electron microscopy as well as corrosion vascular casts. RESULTS: More than two thirds of the bony canal between orbit and inferior nasal duct is filled by a plexus of wide-lumened veins and arteries. The vascular system is embedded in the wall of the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct and is connected to the cavernous tissue of the inferior turbinate. Three types of blood vessels can be distinguished inside the vascular tissue that surrounds the lumen of the lacrimal passage: barrier arteries, capacitance veins, and throttle veins. CONCLUSIONS: The surrounding vascular plexus of the lacrimal sac and nasolacrimal duct is comparable to a cavernous body. While regulating the blood flow, the specialized blood vessels permit opening and closing of the lumen of the lacrimal passage, effected by the bulging and subsiding of the cavernous body, and at the same time regulate tear outflow. Other functions such as drainage of absorbed tear fluid components and a role in immunologic response are under discussion as well. Malfunctions in the cavernous body may lead to disturbances in the tear outflow cycle, ocular congestion, or total occlusion of the lacrimal passages. Variations in the conditions for swelling of the cavernous tissue may have led to the (mistaken) description of valves in the lacrimal passage.
PURPOSE: To evaluate dacryocystoplasty with fluoroscopically guided nonsurgical removal of dacryoliths in the treatment of dacryolithiasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients with severe epiphora due to partial (n = 8) or complete (n = 2) obstruction of the nasolacrimal duct system associated with dacryolithiasis underwent fluoroscopically guided removal of dacryoliths during dacryocystoplasty. Balloon dilation was performed initially to widen the nasolacrimal duct obstructions and to fragment dacryoliths. This was followed by forced irrigation with saline solution through the canaliculi. In patients with incomplete dacryolith washout, a 6.3-F sheath was advanced in a retrograde fashion into the nasolacrimal sac, and forced irrigation was repeated with aspiration of the fragments through the sheath. In two patients with therapy-resistant dacryoliths, additional fragmentation of the concrements was performed with a gooseneck snare. RESULTS: Removal of dacryoliths was technically successful in all patients (complete removal, n = 6; partial removal, n = 4). During a follow-up period of up to 18 months, complete resolution of epiphora was achieved in five patients, and five patients showed partial resolution of their symptoms. CONCLUSION: Fluoroscopically guided removal of dacryoliths during dacryocystoplasty is a feasible nonsurgical therapy with good clinical results and may be used as an alternative to dacryocystorhinostomy.