Lid margin abnormalities – Ectropion

Ectropion is the opposite condition, and the lower lid usually turns away from the eyeball. Ectropion may be due to laxity of the tissue in elderly people or to paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve (the nerve which controls the facial expressions), which causes the weakness of the muscles of the lid. It may also follow cuts, infections, or burns of the lids and face that heal poorly; the resultant scar tissue forms adhesions that cause the lids to turn out. Besides being cosmetically unpleasant, ectropion is accompanied by troublesome tearing and infection. Treatment is surgical rotation of the lid margin and its alignment with the eyeball.