Spontaneous reformation of upper eyelid

Twenty-six patients with lesions of upper eyelids were treated with simple surgical excision under local anaesthesia as day cases. Three other patients with eyelid injuries had full-thickness margin-inclusive lacerations of upper eyelids. In all these 29 patients the upper eyelid wounds were allowed to heal solely by spontaneous repair. The cautious study began with small extramarginal skin excisions and progressed gradually via moderate sized juxtamarginal excisions of skin and orbicularis lamella to full-thickness margin-inclusive excisions. The wounds healed satisfactorily in all the 29 patients without ocular or palpebral complications. The functional results were normal. Cosmetic results were excellent in 27 patients and acceptable in 2, one of whom subsequently underwent a secondary oculoplastic repair. This study demonstrates that, for upper eyelids, full-thickness margin-inclusive excisions of up to 10 mm in horizontal extent and 5-6 mm in height, and moderate sized 13 X 10 mm juxtamarginal excisions of the skin and orbicularis lamella, yield near normal results with solely spontaneous repair. Immediate surgical reconstruction of such wounds is assumed to be mandatory by current tenets of oculoplastic surgery.