A Simple Anesthetic Technique to Eliminate Pain and Optimize Patient Satisfaction for Chalazion Incision and Curettage

A chalazion is a localized area of granulomatous inflammation associated with lipid deposits and swelling of the eyelid. It occurs due to the obstruction of sebaceous glands, meibomian or Zeis, of which the former is more common. The meibomian gland may be obstructed due to varying etiologies including infection, inflammation, or neoplastic lesions. Chalazia may have a slow, insidious onset with minimal symptoms. Most commonly, localized inflammation occurs in the upper lid, with an immobile, hard, mass in the tarsal plate. If large enough, an upper lid chalazion can induce visual disturbances by creating mechanical ptosis or causing increased corneal astigmatism [1]. The chalazion may produce pain if it grows large enough to cause distention of the terminal branches of the ophthalmic (V1) or maxillary (V2) sensory nerve endings. Terminal branches of the ophthalmic division supply the upper eyelid as the lacrimal, supraorbital, and supratrochlear nerves. Terminal branches of the maxillary division supply the lower eyelid as the zygomaticofacial and infraorbital nerves. In addition, sensation of both upper and lower lids results from innervations of the infratrochlear nerve.