Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025

Author Spotlight: Anterior HR-OCT as a Non-Invasive Tool for Characterizing Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia
Published on: August 9, 2024
Orbital apocrine hidrocystoma with ptosis
Vincent Huang1, Vivian Lee1, César A Briceño1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Purpose:
To describe a patient with orbital apocrine hidrocystoma presenting with ptosis and subsequent management.
Observations:
A 43-year-old woman presented to the oculoplastic surgery clinic with a left-sided ptosis and enlarging but painless mass in the sulcus of the left upper eyelid. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a large, circumscribed T2 bright cystic lesion in the extraconal space. Surgical excision and histopathology confirmed a diagnosis of apocrine hidrocystoma.
Conclusions:
Although uncommon, ptosis may be a presenting symptom of an orbital apocrine hidrocystoma, which should be considered in the differential diagnosis for an extraconal cystic lesion. Apocrine hidrocystomas are benign tumors and are cured with surgical excision with rare recurrence.
Related Concept Videos
Accessory Structures of the Eye
Glaucoma: Overview
Muscles of the Eye
Extraocular Muscles
The six extraocular muscles surround the eyeball and control its movements. They are responsible for a wide range of eye motions, including looking up, down, left, right, and...
Accessory Structures of the Skin: Sebaceous Glands
These glands that produce the oils on the skin and hair are holocrine glands. The mature...
Exocrine Glands: Methods of Secretion
Merocrine Secretion
Merocrine secretion is the most common type of exocrine secretion. The secretions are enclosed in vesicles and moved to the cell's apical surface, where the contents are released by exocytosis. For example, mucous, a watery secretion rich in the glycoprotein mucin, is a merocrine secretion. The eccrine...
Angle Closure Glaucoma: Treatment

