Canaliculops Mimicking Canaliculitis

Canaliculops is a rare case of a medial canthal mass due to a non-infectious dilation of the canaliculus and easily mimics canaliculitis with canalicular dilation. We report a case of a 68-year-old woman with a five-year history of progressive swelling of the right upper eyelid. The patient was previously diagnosed with canaliculitis at other clinics and had a history of diabetes mellitus. A purplish-red cystic lesion in the right upper eyelid, medial to the punctum, was noted. However, the lesion was non-tender. Dacryoendoscopic examination showed an expanded right upper horizontal canaliculus with minor inflammatory changes and without intracanalicular granulation tissue. Right common canaliculus obstruction was managed with dacryoendoscopic probing and lacrimal tube insertion. Cytodiagnostic examination of accumulated fluid in the dilated lacrimal canaliculus showed a few foam and inflammatory cells. At three-month follow-up, the lacrimal tube was removed, and no recurrence of epiphora was noted.