Congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction in Japanese infants: its incidence and treatment with massage.

We examined the patency of 670 nasolacrimal ducts in 335 newborn infants--42 patients (62 ducts) had obstructions; the involvement was unilateral in 22 and bilateral in 20. No sexual predilection was noted. All affected patients were treated with hydrostatic massage at the area of the lacrimal sac. About two-thirds of the ducts became patent by 2 months after birth, while the remainder became patent by 9 months. Only one patient who had acute dacryocystitis at age 5 months required a probing of the duct and a regimen of systemic antibiotics to achieve good results.