Bilateral congenital dacryocystocele as a cause of respiratory distress in a newborn.

Newborns with respiratory distress and nasal obstruction must be examined for congenital dacryocystocele. This disease is caused by a stenosis in the proximal and distal area of the nasolacrimal duct and leads to a cystic dilatation of this duct. A case of a newborn with bilateral dacryocystocele and dyspnoea is presented. The otorhinolaryngologic as well as the paediatric examination could only reveal in the rhinoscopic examination a tumor of the left nasal cavity that partly obstructed the endonasal space. No other pathologic findings were detected. To clarify the origin and the localization of the tumor as well as to exclude an intracranial relation, a magnetic resonance imaging of the middle face and the frontal skull base was performed. After probe and rinsing of the lacrimal ducts the symptoms improved rapidly. In newborns with nasal obstruction a bilateral rhinoscopy of the lower nasal meatus is required to exclude the existence of a dacryocystocele.