Dermatologic conditions of the eyelids and face

As public concern increases about the effects of light radiation and skin cancer of all types, the primary care optometrist becomes increasingly involved in screening for dermatologic changes of the face, eyelids, and periorbital area. Often faced with a lesion of unknown identity, the optometrist is concerned with both identifying that lesion and assessing its potential for malignancy, particularly in the increasingly litigious environment surrounding health care. Compounding the difficulties of recognition are multiple variations in morphologic features, which contribute to frequent misdiagnoses. The main purposes of this paper are to: (1) expand the optometrist's knowledge of characteristic features of dermatologic lesions, (2) present the differential diagnoses of similar or mimicking lesions, (3) improve the recognition of characteristics that suggest malignancy or malignant transformation of precursor lesions, and (4) enhance awareness of individual risk factors for the development of skin cancer.