硬口蓋穿孔を起こした鼻涙管留置カテーテルの1例

Perforation of the Hard Palate Caused by Long-Term Insertion of a Tube in the Nasolacrimal Duct

I．はじめに

　今回私どもは鼻涙管閉塞症の治療目的で用いられた鼻涙管チューブが，長い年月の間にその本来の機能を失ない舞腔内に異物化し，さらに硬口蓋を穿孔して口腔内に突出したきわめて稀な症例を経験したので，若干の文献的考察を加えて報告する。

　A 60-year-old woman was complaining of a bad smell in her left nostril. Examination of the nasal cavity revealed a tube perforated through the hard palate. The history showed that she had received a tube insertion in the nasolacrimal duct 30 years ago because of obstruction of the lacrimal duct.X-ray examination with lipiodol confirmed a perforation of the hard palate by the tube from the nasolacrimal duct. Surgical removal of the tube was performed under general anesthesia. We concluded that the tube was released from the nasolacrimal duct spontaneously, which gave persisting pressure on the hard palate and eventually made the perforation. One must be very careful to follow up any patient especially when foreign bodies were used in the treatment.