Epiblepharon Causes Persistent Eye Discomfort- How Treatment Can Help

It’shardformostpeopletoimaginehowtheireyelashescouldscratchtheir eyes,butit’saneverydayrealityforpeoplewithepiblepharon.Thiscondition mainlyoccursinchildrenandiscausedbythelowereyelidskinpushingthe eyelashesagainsttheeye.Asaresult,thelashescaninterferewithvisionand causediscomfortastheytouchtheocularsurface.

Dr.Scottlikenstheeyelidtoasandwichwithapieceofbreadoneitherside. Epiblepharonoccurswhenthefrontlayerofskinandmuscleonthelower eyeliddoesn’tproperlyadheretothebackportionoftheeyelid.Anextrafold appearsinthelowereyelid,pushingthelashesupwardandposteriorly towardtheeye.TheconditionistypicallygeneticandusuallyoccursinAsian, Hispanic,andNativeAmericanchildren.Althoughitisrare,epiblepharoncan occasionallyoccurintheuppereyelidaswell.

Thegoodnewsisthattheconditionisasymptomaticinmostchildren.Even better,theytendtogrowoutofitanddon’trequiresurgery.Butinasmall numberofcases,epiblepharoncontinuesintoadulthoodandcauses significanteyediscomfortordamage.Whensevereenough,epiblepharoncan causetheverticaleyelashestoscratchagainstthecornea.Patientscan experienceeyepain,redness,itching,watering,discharge,andsensitivityto light.Itiscommonforindividualswiththisconditiontohavetriedmultiple homeremediesbeforehavingtheirproblemcorrectlydiagnosed.Theyuse eyedropsandointments,carrytissueseverywhere,andwearsunglasses. Unfortunately,manydoctorsareunfamiliarwiththisconditionordon’t realizethattreatmentisavailable.Butwhentheconditiondoesnotimprove spontaneously,aneyelidsurgerycanbeperformedtocorrecttheproblem anddramaticallyimprovethepatient’squalityoflife.

Dr.Scott’spreferredmethodofepiblepharoncorrectioninvolvesmakinga smallincisionunderneaththeeyelashesandremovingaverysmall“banana shaped”stripofskinandmuscle.Thewoundisthensuturedclosedthereby reducingtheextralowereyelidfold,andthisreturnstheeyelashestoamore standardposition.Complicationsfromthissurgeryareveryrare.

Ifyoususpectyouhaveepiblepharonandexperiencechronicsymptoms,you don’thavetolivewiththiscondition.Youdeservetolivealifefreeofeye discomfortandpain.CallEyePlasticAssociatestoscheduleaconsultationat

whichDr.Scottwillassessyoursituationanddeterminethebestpath forward.