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Updated: May 15, 2026
Impression Cytology of the Lid Wiper Area
Published on: August 9, 2016
Histopathologic proof for the origin of ectopic cilia of the eyelid skin
Frederick A Jakobiec1, Michael K Yoon
1David G Cogan Laboratory of Ophthalmic Pathology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street - 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02114, USA. fred_jakobiec@meei.harvard.edu
Background:
The origin of congenitally displaced cilia of the eyelid margin remains a controversial subject.
Methods:
Case report with literature review. The clinical, surgical, and histopathologic findings of the current and published cases were used to determine the location of the generative hair bulbs of ectopic cilia.
Results:
A 36 year-old man underwent complete excision of a congenital papule containing approximately 25 cilia located in the left lateral upper eyelid. These cilia were separated by 3 mm superior from the normal cilia where there was a miniscule gap. The hair bulbs were located in dense fibrous tissue at the level of the lower dermis but above the orbicularis striated muscle, which during surgery was not defective or colobomatous.
Conclusions:
This case supplies additional evidence that ectopic eyelid cilia arise in the eyelid skin and not as has been postulated within metaplastic Meibomian glands of the tarsus.
