Eyelid Malposition

Your eyelids are small but highly complex structures that play a critical role in protecting and maintaining the health of your eyes. They shield the eyes from dust, debris, and injury, help spread tears evenly across the surface, and prevent dryness.

However, due to aging, injury, infection, nerve problems, or other underlying conditions, the eyelids can sometimes malfunction causing either an ectopion (an outward turning eyelid) or an entropion (an eyelid that turns inward causing eyelashes to touch the eyeball).

Ectropion is when your eyelid turns outwards. This generally causes symptoms such as watering or irritation. It can also lead to a gritty sensation in your eye, ulceration, mucous discharge and in worst case exposure of the cornea with corneal ulceration, scarring and deterioration in your vision.  

Firstly, your surgeon may decide to try a non-surgical approach which would involve regular lubricant use to reduce the gritty feeling in your eye. If this does not resolve the issue, a surgical approach may be discussed which would involve correction of the eyelid position. This generally requires a procedure to both tighten the lid and stabilise the lid margin via a small incision in the outer corner and inside of eyelid. Surgery generally takes 30-40 minutes and may be performed in rooms or in an operating theatre.   

Entropion is the inward turning of your eyelid. This is often very symptomatic with eye irritation which may be occasional at first but often becomes permanent. It is critical to correct this condition as corneal ulceration can easily lead to severe sight threatening consequences. 

For entropion, surgical correction of the eyelid position is often required. This generally requires a procedure to both tighten the lid and to stabilise the lid margin via a small skin incision just below the lashes. Surgery generally takes 30-40 minutes and may be performed in rooms or in an operating theatre.