Entropion: the symptoms and how to treat it

By Cristiano Antonino On Jan 24, 2023

Entropion is a condition related to an altered position of the eyelid whereby the eyelid rim, where the eyelashes reside, is introflected (turns inward) and the eyelashes go scratching on the cornea

Symptoms attributable to entropion

To the naked eye, the eyelid appears more shortened and pudgy than usual and the eye very red, in addition to a very noticeable subjective sensation of discomfort complained of by sufferers.

At first one feels:

discomfort;
discomfort;
redness of the eye.

Later, this disorder can result in corneal lesions, real ulcers that, in addition to being very painful, can lead to infection from which corneal transparency or a corneal abscess can result.

Types of entropion

Entropion may be congenital in a small percentage of cases because, normally, it is senile in nature, that is, due to a laxity of the orbicularis muscle, which no longer keeps the eyelid in contact with the eye and thus the eyelashes become introflected.

There is also, albeit less frequently, senile spasm entropion caused by an overactivity of the orbicularis muscle that causes the eyelid to contract and bring it inward.

How entropion is treated

For senile entropion, treatment is always surgical.

Through surgery, the eyelid is cut and shortened, and the eyelid rim is everted with resorbable stitches that reposition it to its original location.

In some cases of entropion for spastic forms, botulinum toxin injections can be performed, but these have limited efficacy over time.

Once, in fact, the toxin is degraded by our body, usually within 2 to 3 months, the paralysis effect of the over-contracting muscle is lost and it returns to its original situation.

Surgery

This is a 20-minute, outpatient surgery with infiltrative local anesthesia that requires the discontinuation of antiplatelet and anticoagulant medication.

The effectiveness of the procedure in some cases is not definitive: sometimes the laxity is such that the problem may recur over time.

In fact, as the eye socket regresses with age, the periorbital fat wears away leading to an unavoidable clinical condition known as enophthalmos, or dimpling of the eye game.

No longer having the push of the eye, therefore, the eyelid turns inward.

It is important, however, at the initial stage of surgery, not to exaggerate with the thinning of the orbicularis muscle and skin, but to act with extreme balance: if you shorten the eyelid too much, in fact, you run the risk that the eye will later not close.