Ectropion and entropion in sub-Saharan Africa: how do we differ?

To study the etiopathophysiology of ectropion and entropion in a sub-Saharan tertiary eye care center and examine how it differs from reports elsewhere.

This was a retrospective audit of all consecutive patients who presented with ectropion or entropion to the oculoplastics clinic of a tertiary eye care unit. We reviewed the medical records of all such patients and data extracted include age, gender, etiopathology, and diagnosis. The primary oculoplastic disease was used in classifying the patients. The study period covered January 2008-June 2012.

A total of 53 patients were identified constituting 37.3% of all eyelid diseases. Thirty-three (62.3%) were males. Forty-eight (90.6%) had ectropion, 43(89.6%) of which were cicatricial ectropion. Five (9.4%) had entropion. The median age group affected was 30-39 years (26.4%). There were no cases of congenital ectropion or entropion. The leading etiological factor was trauma in 36 cases (67.9%), which was mostly due to road traffic accidents (50.9%).

This study highlights a difference in etiopathophysiology of ectropion and entropion in a sub-Saharan region when compared to reported data from developed countries. In Nigeria, ectropion (which is often cicatricial) is usually secondary to trauma whereas senile involution is the common cause in many developed countries. This finding has implications in appropriate planning and skill acquisition for surgical correction in this group of patients.