Ectropion

Ectropion is a medical condition in which the lower eyelid turns outward.

This is often the result of skin relaxation, which occurs with advancing age. Symptoms include tearing, mucous discharge and foreign body sensation in the eye, whilst vision may also be indirectly affected.

Ectropion can also result from various injuries, chemical or thermal burns, diseases such as cicatricial pemphigoid and allergies.
In order to prevent possible eye damage, surgery may be necessary. This consists of the repositioning of the eyelid back to its normal position and is performed under local anesthesia.

Entropion

Entropion is the medical condition in which either of the eyelids (usually the bottom) is directed inwards. This can result in the eyelashes rubbing the eye, resulting in pain, redness, reflex blepharospasm and tearing. The rubbing of the eyelashes on the cornea can cause apoptosis of the epithelium, ulcers, opacities and corneal neovascularization, with bad consequences for the eye and vision.

The entropion is divided into involutional, spastic and cicatricial, with the first being more frequent and predominantly occurring in the elderly aged over 70.

The treatment of trichiasis (eyelashes rubbing on the cornea) may be temporary (removal of abnormal eyelashes with special forceps), or permanent, with destruction of the capsule of abnormal eyelashes with various methods, such as diathermy, cryosurgery, Argon Laser and electrolysis. When these methods are not effective, we resort to surgical repair of the entropion that caused the trichiasis.