NEONATAL DACRYOCYSTITIS ASSOCIATED WITH NASOLACRIMAL DUCT CYSTS

Neonatal dacryocystitis is a rare complication of congenital nasolacri mal duct (NLD) obstruction. Recent reports suggest that the associatio n of neonatal dacryocystitis and NLD cysts may be more common than pre viously believed. The purpose of this study is to describe the nasal e ndoscopic findings and treatment of three patients with this disorder. In this prospective study, three consecutive patients who presented a t 2 weeks of age or less with dacryocystitis were treated with NLD pro bing and rigid nasal endoscopy. All patients were found to have congen ital NLD cysts at the time of NLD probing. The cysts were marsupialize d under endoscopic visualization. The treatment was successful in all patients. Dacryocystitis in the early newborn period is commonly assoc iated with NLD cysts. Nasal endoscopic marsupialization of the cysts i s an effective adjunct to treatment of these patients.