[Lari Plastic Surgery] What Is Ectropion? The Definition and Causes of Ectropion

Have you ever heard the term ectropion?!

For many of us, ectropion may be an unfamiliar term. However, the appearance and symptoms of ectropion are not mild.

What Is Ectropion?

It is also called eyelid eversion,

and according to the definition by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, it refers to the tarsal plate, which is the skeletal structure of the eyelid, being turned outward in the opposite direction from the eye.

When ectropion (eyelid eversion) occurs,

you may experience tearing, redness, and eye irritation, and if the ectropion persists for a long time and the eyeball remains excessively exposed, this can scratch or cloud the cornea and may also lead to reduced vision.

We should understand why ectropion, which causes such serious symptoms, develops, right?!

There are several causes of ectropion.

1. It occurs when scarring forms on the eyelid skin due to trauma, surgery, disease, or other causes

The most common example of cicatricial ectropion is ectropion that occurs after lower blepharoplasty, and it is caused by excessive skin removal from the lower eyelid or by contracture of the scar tissue in the dissected area.

Its severity can range from mild to severe.

2. It occurs due to aging of the skin and muscle layers around the eyes

As degeneration progresses with age,

the muscles around the eyes weaken and the eyelids become loose, leading to ectropion.

In the early stages, the condition appears at the front part of the eyelid, but as time passes, the symptoms progress, and ectropion develops in the middle and then across the entire eyelid.

3. It occurs due to facial nerve paralysis

Because the facial nerve is paralyzed, the muscles of the eyelid become paralyzed,

and contraction and relaxation of the muscles do not occur smoothly.

As a result, the lower eyelid may develop ectropion or scleral show, and the upper eyelid may develop lagophthalmos, where the eye cannot close fully.

Although it is a very unfamiliar term that is not commonly heard, ectropion is a condition that causes problems both aesthetically and functionally.

Because it is not common, there are not many examples of its symptoms, and surgical methods for correction are also not well known, so for patients with ectropion who may be struggling,

Today, along with the definition of ectropion, we looked at several causes, starting with the first cause, which has the highest frequency of ectropion, and then the second and third causes as well.

I plan to write about ectropion in a bit more detail for a while, so I hope this will be very helpful to those who are concerned because of the symptoms described above.