SPONTANEOUS REFORMATION OF LOWER EYELID

Eleven consecutive patients with tumors involving the lower eyelid margin were treated with margin-including full-thickness excision of the eyelid and suturing of bleeding vessels as the sole primary surgical procedure, needing less than 10 min. The resulting defects of 2/5 to 7/8 of the horizontal extent of the eyelid and varying in height from 4-7 mm were allowed to heal spontaneously. In all the 11 patients the wounds healed, without ocular or palpebral complications in about 6 wk and underwent further cosmetic improvement for the ensuing 6-8 wk. Cosmetic results were excellent in 8 patients with excisions of 2/5 to 1/2 of the eyelid. All procedures including the secondary reconstructions were carried out on day-case basis under local anesthesia. Histology confirmed complete tumor clearance in all the patients. Apart from being the 1st report of a planned study of spontaneous repair of full-thickness surgical wounds of the lower eyelid, this study shows that the conventional method of dressing such wounds can be replaced by the less expensive and convenient dressing of a cartella shield with an improvised central hole.