title: Congenital absence of the lacrimal puncta.
abstract: We report seven cases of congenital absence of the lacrimal puncta, a condition that may be either an isolated finding or associated with other developmental anomalies. General pediatric evaluation of two patients with punctal agenesis revealed no additional abnormalities; these cases were managed by probing and silicone intubation. The other five cases were associated with other significant, clinically obvious abnormalities; several of these patients required more aggressive management of their lacrimal disorders, including dacryocystorhinostomy and conjunctivo-dacryocystorhinostomy. Previous reports support the impression generated by this series that otherwise normal appearing children with congenital absence of the lacrimal puncta do not require an extensive work-up. Probably many children with absent puncta are asymptomatic and remain undiagnosed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boerner
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Seiff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arroyo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003608:Dacryocystorhinostomy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007765:Lacrimal Apparatus / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012826:Silicone Elastomers
chemical_list: D012826:Silicone Elastomers