Nuclear lacrimal scan vs dacryocystography.

The lacrimal drainage systems of 78 eyes were studied by technetium scanning at the University of Iowa and, of these, 25 were also subjected to conventional contrast dacryocystography. Twenty-six eyes were asymptomatic for epiphora and normal scans were recorded on all of them. All of the remaining 52 symptomatic eyes had an abnormal lacrimal scan with either a presac or a postsac blockage. In general, there was good correlation with dacryocystography, with the exception of three cases of functional block which had a normal dacryocystogram. Technetium scanning should serve as a valuable tool for diagnosing and localizing lacrimal obstruction.