Clinical, Histopathological and Therapeutical Analysis of Inferior Eyelid Basal Cell Carcinomas

RATIONALE Eyelids are very susceptible area for non-melanoma skin cancers; among that, basal cell carcinoma has the highest incidence (almost 90% of malignant eyelid tumors) and 50-60% of eyelid basal cell carcinomas appear on inferior eyelid. OBJECTIVE To analyze clinical features of inferior eyelid basal cell carcinoma and to determine the efficacy of surgical treatment with frozen sectioncontrolled margins and methods of primary reconstruction of defects. METHODS A review of medical records of cases with primary inferior eyelid basal cell carcinoma treated by surgical excision with urgent histopathology controlled margins by FS technique, doubled by paraffin examination from October 2011 to October 2014. After histopathology confirmation of tumor free margins, proper inferior eyelid reconstruction was performed. RESULTS The review resulted in 36 patients with 36 lesions analyzed by clinical, histopatological and therapeuticalaspectswith a mean follow-up of 20 months. All lesions were primary BCC affecting inferior eyelid. There were no recurrence in the follow-up period. Inferior eyelid reconstruction techniques were direct closure for small defects and complex techniques for defects more than one third of eyelid length. DISCUSSION Appropriate eyelid examination is mandatory in any routine ophthalmic check-up. Clinical signs suggestive of BCC should be familiar to ophthalmologist in order to have an early diagnosis and treatment for these tumors. Surgical treatment with FS controlled excision followed by eyelid reconstruction is an efficient treatment for inferior eyelid BCC. ABBREVIATIONS basal cell carcinoma (BCC); frozen section (FS);Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS).