Eyelid Injuries: A Nine Year Review Of Management

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Eyelid injuries are usually associated with injury to the eyeball therefore they are mostly reported along with such injuries. This report is a review of cases of eyelid injuries managed in the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos Central Nigeria. PATIENT AND METHOD: This is a retrospective study of patients with eyelid injuries that were managed over 9 years. The information obtained from the patient's case notes included demographic data, cause, location and type of injury as well as the object responsible for the injury and modality of treatment. RESULT: Sixty six patients with eyelid lid injuries were managed. Fifty seven were males and 9 were females giving a male: female ratio of 6.3:1. The age ranged from one year to 62 years with a mean of 24.8 ± 13.4 years. Thirty percent of the patients were within the third decade of life. There were 36 (54.5%) cases of laceration, 20 (30.3%) cases of abrasions/bruises and 7 (10.6%) cases of avulsions. Road traffic accidents were responsible for most of the injury (27.3%) followed by fights/assault (21.2%) and sports/recreation activities (18.4%). The most frequent objects associated with the injuries were metals (41.0%), fist/feet (13.6%), stone (12.1), and wood (10.6%). There were more injuries to the upper eyelid, while eyeball trauma was the most common associated injury. Twenty three (34.9%) patients who were managed conservatively had no need for suturing or reconstruction. Flaps were used for reconstruction in three (4.5%) patients while direct closure was undertaken in forty (60.6%) patients where such closure will not impair eyelid function. CONCLUSION: Eyelid injury can occur with or without extensive trauma to the eyeball. The upper eyelid is commonly affected and complex reconstruction may be required in cases with extensive injury. KEYWORDS: Eyelid injury, causative factor, repair, reconstruction Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma Vol.3(2) 2004: 118-128