Abstract

Between November 1990 and November 1993, 580 children with lacrimal outflow obstruction were examined at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. After excluding patients previously treated for nasolacrimal duct obstruction, we obtained a prospectively selected series of 20 children for this study. These patients underwent dacryoscintigraphy before and immediately after lacrimal sac massage to investigate the effect of external compression on fluid movement within the lacrimal outflow system. In 12 patients, tracer did not enter the lacrimal outflow system on the side(s) of obstruction. The absence of radiopharmaceutical correlated with clinical obstruction. In eight patients, tracer was noted to enter the lacrimal sac. After massage of the lacrimal sac, we observed progression of the tracer in five of the eight subjects. In these eight subjects, the pre- and postmassage tear column measurements showed a relative increase of 34.3%. Massage of eight clinically normal ducts showed a relative increase of 2.4% (p = 0.06). We conclude that progression of the tear column after lacrimal massage can be demonstrated on dacryoscintigraphy.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.