Loss of Unilateral Lacrimation Following Adenoidectomy

Complications following an adenoidectomy are rare. A 13-month-old female developed unilateral lacrimation impairment following an adenoidectomy and bilateral ventilation tube insertion. The patient’s post-operative course was marked by a fever, rhinorrhea, and dehydration. We suspect the impairment to be secondary to injury by suction cautery or post-operative inflammatory response and infection. Over the first nine months after surgery, the impairment spontaneously remitted.