Entropion Surgery

Ectropion can usually be diagnosed with a routine eye exam and physical. Your doctor may pull on your eyelids during the exam or ask you to close your eyes forcefully. This helps him or her assess each eyelid's muscle tone and tightness.

If your ectropion is caused by a scar, tumor, previous surgery or radiation, your doctor will examine the surrounding tissue as well.

Understanding how other conditions cause ectropion is important in choosing the correct treatment or surgical technique.

Treatment

If your ectropion is mild, your doctor might recommend artificial tears and ointments to ease the symptoms. Surgery is generally required to fully correct ectropion.

Surgery

The type of surgery you have depends on the condition of the tissue surrounding your eyelid and on the cause of your ectropion:

• Ectropion caused by muscle and ligament relaxation due to aging. Your surgeon will likely remove a small part of your lower eyelid at the outer edge. When the lid is stitched back together, the tendons and muscles of the lid will be tightened, causing the lid to rest properly on the eye. This procedure is generally relatively simple.


• Ectropion caused by scar tissue from injury or previous surgery. Your surgeon might need to use a skin graft, taken from your upper eyelid or behind your ear, to help support the lower lid. If you have facial paralysis or significant scarring, you might need a second procedure to completely correct your ectropion.