Eyelash Resection Procedure for Severe, Recurrent, or Segmental Cicatricial Entropion

PURPOSE: To study the safety, efficacy, and cosmetic outcome of the eyelash resection procedure for treatment of severe, recurrent, or segmental cicatricial entropion. METHODS: Retrospective consecutive case series of patients with severe, recurrent, or segmental cicatricial entropion treated with eyelash resection at the Moran Eye Center and the University of Vermont. Investigators performed chart reviews of these patients and evaluated effectiveness of the treatment and outcome data, including age, gender, diagnoses, method of repair, recurrence of trichiasis, and cosmetic satisfaction. There were no exclusionary characteristics specified in the study. RESULTS: A total of 26 eyelids were operated on in 5 male and 11 female patients. The mean age was 74 years, with the following diagnoses: idiopathic (6), ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (2), postoperative (2), ocular pseudopemphigoid (drug related) (1), graft-versus-host disease (1), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (1), trachoma (1), linear IgA bullous dermatosis (1), and trauma (1). Mean postoperative follow-up was 13 months. The functional success rate was 90.5%, and the cosmetic success rate was 100%. CONCLUSION: The eyelash resection procedure is a safe, effective, and cosmetically acceptable procedure for treatment of severe, recurrent, or segmental cicatricial entropion.