[Eyelid necrosis after injection of lidocaine with epinephrine]

Four patients (two women aged 50 and 67 years, a 36-year-old man, and a 5-year-old child) presented with necrosis of the eyelid after local anesthesia using 2% lidocaine with epinephrine. In three cases, the anesthesia was administered prior to suturing an eyelid laceration, and the necrosis involved the upper lid; in one case, the anesthesia was administered prior to temporal artery biopsy. Surgical debridement of the necrotic tissue was performed in all cases. Three patients developed a bacterial superinfection treated with systemic antibiotics with good results. Necrosis of the eyelid is a rare complication occurring after local anesthesia using lidocaine with epinephrine. Most dermatologists refrain from use of epinephrine with local anesthetics for digital blocks. Necrosis is due to prolonged vasoconstriction of arteries. It is observed especially commonly in patients at increased risk (arteritis, Raynaud's phenomenon and severe microvascular diseases). In the eyelid, few cases have been reported.