Tratamento das obstru？？es congênitas do ducto nasolacrimal

purpose: to present the success rate in treating congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction with hydrostatic pressure (crigler method). methods: clinical data from 186 children aged up to 32 months treated from 1990 until 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. the procedure was repeated up to 3 times at a one week interval. using epi info version 6.04 software for analysis, data were tabulated and statistical significance was evaluated by applying chi-square and kruskal-wallis tests. results: leading age group was 1 to 5 months old (56.4%) for males and females. affection was bilateral in 36.3%, 34.1% on right side and 29.6% on the left side. all cases had epiphora and 56.5% presented mucopurulent discharge. cure was achieved with one massage for 43.6%, 23.3% with two, 17.4% with three and, with 4 and 5+ sessions in respectively 5.8% and 9.0%. those 14 cases who did not respond to massage were treated with probing. conclusion: the crigler method was effective in managing congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction cases.