[Lari Plastic Surgery] Entropion and Ectropion: What’s the Difference?

Over the course of a few posts, we’ve looked at the somewhat unfamiliar condition called "ectropion."

Just as there are external and internal affairs, and surgery and internal medicine, if there is ectropion, of course there is also entropion.

Today, let’s talk about something a bit more familiar.

Entropion, entropion, eyelid entropion.. Many of you may have heard this term somewhere before.

Entropion is a condition in which the eyelashes, which should normally point outward away from the eyeball, turn toward the eyeball and cause discomfort. Anyone who says, "My eyelashes are poking my eye and it feels uncomfortable," falls into this category of entropion.

What is the difference between ectropion and entropion?

Exactly as the names suggest.

Ectropion, which uses the character "外" meaning outside, is when the eyelid turns outward, while entropion, which uses the character "內" meaning inside, is when the eyelid turns inward, causing problems.

Entropion occurs more frequently than ectropion. From trichiasis, where normally grown eyelashes are congenitally directed in an abnormal way, to entropion that develops later due to cosmetic surgery around the eyes.

This is a table of symptoms for ectropion and entropion. Both conditions have common symptoms as well as their own individual symptoms, and they can cause an indescribable level of discomfort.

Overall, the two conditions share similar symptoms and cause significant distress, but a major feature of entropion is the unbearable foreign-body sensation. Even one eyelash getting into the eye can make it hard to keep your eyes open, so how painful would it be if the eyelashes were broadly poking into the eye? ㅠㅠ

Then shall we take a look at some photos?!

1. Correction of ectropion

First, ectropion is a surgery that restores an eyelid that has turned outward back to normal by grafting skin, muscle, or cartilage. So eyelashes that were severely turned outward before surgery also rise somewhat after ectropion surgery.

2. Correction of entropion

By contrast, entropion is a surgery that must turn an inward-curling eyelid outward. You can see that the eyelashes, which seemed as if they were about to touch the eyeball before surgery, have returned to a normal position.

The reasons for the two surgeries may be similar, but their purposes are very different.

Let’s look at how entropion is corrected.

The method and sequence are as shown above, but the key points of entropion surgery are binding the muscles to properly turn the eyelashes outward and accurately determining the amount of excess skin to remove.

Good results can be achieved only when these two factors are well balanced.

What should be noted here is that if there is a lot of excess skin in entropion surgery, some skin also has to be removed, as in lower blepharoplasty. Therefore, entropion surgery that fails to properly control the amount of skin removed can also cause ectropion.

Compared with ectropion correction surgery, entropion correction surgery is much simpler in terms of recovery time, such as wound contracture or scarring, but because it can lead to ectropion if done incorrectly, you should never overlook the fact that special caution is always needed during surgery. Today, we looked at the definition, symptoms, and surgical methods for entropion, and compared them with ectropion.

Whether it is ectropion or entropion, if symptoms are present, correcting them as soon as possible is important, and when it comes to this type of surgery, being treated by a specialist with extensive surgical experience helps reduce the risk of failure and achieve satisfying results.