Eyelid lump surgery

Numerous benign and malignant neoplastic lesions may develop on the skin around the eyes. The main goal in the ophthalmological treatment of periorbital skin lesions is to diagnose whether a given lesion is malignant or benign.

A slit lamp examination is not sufficient to differentiate malignant tumours from benign tumours. Therefore, a histological examination of resected neoplastic tissue is always recommended.

• history of skin carcinoma,
• excessive exposure to sunlight,
• prior radiotherapy treatment,
• smoking,
• fair skin, red hair and blue eyes.

• slow-growing, painless masses,
• ulcerated masses with occasional leaking, bleeding or crust formation over the lesion,
• irregular pigmented skin lesions,
• disorders of the eyelid margin, loss of eye lashes,
• elevated, pale pinkish lump margins,
• minor blood vessels prominent on the surface of the lesion,
• loss of natural skin wrinkles.

Prior to scheduled surgery, patients are requested to:

• stop taking anticoagulant drugs but only in consultation with the family doctor, cardiologist or other specialist,
• present a medical health certificate issued by a specialist stating that the patient is fit for oculoplastic surgery.

Eyelid lump surgery is a treatment of choice where in addition to the lesion itself the surrounding healthy tissue is also removed. This procedure enables total lump removal. To arrive at a diagnosis, after surgery the excised skin fragments are examined histologically.
After removing a wide rim of surrounding tissue it is necessary to fill the eyelid defect. In case of minor defects suturing the edges of the wound is sufficient. In case of larger defects eyelid reconstruction surgery is necessary to reconstruct the eyelid and achieve the best possible functional and cosmetic results.