Although often thought of as a purely cosmetic issue, eyelid malpositions can actually be quite hazardous to the health of your eyes. When the eyelids aren’t in a normal position, they don’t close properly, which results in a loss of protection for your eyes. The lack of full eyelid coverage also hinders the lubrication of the eye on every blink, so many patients suffer with painful, dry, and burning eyes from a lack of moisture.
Eyelid malposition occurs when the eyelid rolls in or turn out. This means the eyelids don’t close fully when you blink. This can happen as a result of the normal aging process, trauma to the face, chemical exposure or skin cancer removal.
Entropion is when the eyelid rolls in, ectropion is when it turns out. Both conditions are most commonly seen in patients in their 60s and beyond. Both conditions can be repaired with surgical procedures designed to return the eyelids to their natural position.
As an oculoplastic surgeon, Dr. Vickers offers multiple procedures to treat both entropion and ectropion, as well as their numerous variants. The surgical repair procedure will depend on your specific condition.
Most eyelid malposition repairs are outpatient surgeries and last less than 30 minutes. Recovery to normal activities takes approximately one week for most patients.