Nasolacrimal drainage system cyst in an adult

A cyst of the nasolacrimal drainage system (NLDS) is rare in an adult. We report a case in a 29-year-old man of a mucous retention cyst of the NLDS, which appeared 2 years after the patient developed dacryocystitis coincident with an aggravation of chronic sinusitis. The lesion was successfully managed by removing the bony wall of the NLDS at the interface with the ethmoid and nasal cavity, as well as the membranous closure of the ostium of the common canaliculus. We speculate that the cyst development might have been initiated by inflammatory change such as mucosal adhesion in the NLDS resulting from the spread of secondary infection from the sinonasal tract.