Ectropion: Eyelids That Turn Out
What is ectropion?
Ectropion refers to when the lower eyelid no longer lies snugly against the eyeball and turns outwards.
What causes ectropion?
- Ageing: As we grow older the tendons of the lower eyelid, which normally keep the eyelid taut against the eyeball, can start to loosen resulting in laxity of the eyelid itself. Furthermore, the cheek can start to descend due to the loosening of its deep attachments from the underlying cheek bone. This leads in increased downward pull on the lower eyelid resulting in it being pulled downwards and outwards.
- Scarring of the skin around the eyelid can cause the lids to turn outwards. There are many causes of scarring, for example, burns, chemical splashes, certain skin diseases.
- Damage to the facial nerve can result in weakness of the muscles of the lower eyelid, leading to ectropion.
What are the signs and symptoms of ectropion?
- Watering of the eye
- Dryness of the eye.
- Redness.
- Sensitivity to wind and light.
- Outward turning lower eyelid.
How is ectropion treated?
The best option for treating ectropion is by surgery. The type of surgery performed is varies from patient to patient depending on the reasons why that patient has an ectropion in the first place. For most patients, surgery will involve restoring the tension in the lower eyelid which has been lost and also reducing the amount of downward pull on the eyelid. This will result in restoring the lower eyelid to its normal position, so that it fits snugly against the eyeball. If the ectropion is caused by scarring then the operation may involve more extensive surgery. Most operations can be done quite comfortably and quickly using a local anaesthetic injection as a day case procedure.
Before (left) and after (right) pictures of the lower eyelid ectropion surgeryClick here for photographs of patients before and after ectropion surgery