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Eyelid conditions

Checked: 23-08-2021 by Rob Adams Next Review: 23-04-2022

Skin conditions of the eyelid

For a general overview of skin conditions that can affect the eyelid please see the PCDS website(1).

If advice on diagnosis or management of skin conditions of the eyelid is needed please consider the Dermatology Advice and Guidance service. Please attach photos with your advice request.

Benign lesions of the eyelid

Please see the Chalazia and Stye page for these type of eyelid lesions.

For other benign lesions of the eyelid such as skin tags and other benign lesions routine removal is not routinely available and subject to Prior Approval - see the BNSSG Benign Skin Lesion Prior Approval Policy.

If an opinion is needed then consider using Dermatology Advice and Guidance. Please attach photos with your advice request.

Malignant Lesions of the Eyelid

Malignant lesions of the eyelid are rare but can include:

Basal Cell Carcinoma- if a BCC is suspected on the eyelid then this should be referred via the skin 2WW pathway.
Melanoma/SCC - if other skin malignancy of the eyelid is suspected please refer via the skin 2WW pathway.
Sebaceous gland carcinoma - if a chalazia keeps coming back or is atypical then biopsy may be required to rule out malignancy. If this is suspected then discuss with the on call ophthalmology registrar (there is no specific 2WW pathway for ophthalmology).

There are some pictures of eyelid lesions including malignancy on the DermNet NZ website (2).

Resources

(1) Primary Care Dermatology Society - Eyelids

(2) Eyelid skin problems - DermNet NZ

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

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