Silicone oil migration in the eyelid after vitrectomy for retinal detachment

PURPOSE: To report a case of silicone oil intrusion in the upper eyelid, expressed by ptosis occurrence 19 years after surgery. METHODS: Vitrectomy followed by transscleral subretinal fluid drainage and silicone oil tamponade was performed on a 57-year-old man for retinal detachment. Nineteen years later, the patient was referred for mobile subcutaneous lumps of the upper right eyelid. Preoperative examination showed total invasion of the eyelid by silicone oil, as confirmed by pathology. RESULTS: Silicone oil leak developed through the transscleral drainage lumen and worsened with ocular hypertension. We assume that ptosis was induced by the weight of inflammatory tissue and consequently the development of a lymphoedema. CONCLUSION: We report a case of silicone ptosis. Two concomitant factors induced oil leakage: the puncture site and postoperative hypertonia. (C) 2003 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.