[Diagnosis and treatment of lacrimal pathway lesions]

The experience of a clinic dealing exclusively with lacrimal system problems is reported. 2,002 patients (2,497 eyes) were treated over the course of eight years. The great majority of patients were children under the age of 4 years. the etiology of the lacrimal dysfunction varied according to age. In infants and children under four 98% of the cases were of congenital defects. The most frequent causes in adolescents and adults was trauma, and in the elderly, inflammation. Inflammation of the lacrimal sac was more than twice as common in females, and the right side was more often affected that the left (4:3).