Aims:To determine the prevalence of orbito-oculoplastic diseases and thereby contributing a data base to the emerging orbito-oculoplastics subspecialty in the sub-Saharan region.Settings and Design:A tertiary eye care centre.Materials and Methods:A descriptive prospective study was done in a tertiary eye care center. Demographic and clinico-pathological diagnoses of 269 patients presenting to the oculoplastics clinic over a 4-year period (January 2008 -December 2011) were collected at entry and during follow-up visits. These were patients referred from the general ophthalmology clinics of the study center, secondary eye care centers within and from neighboring states. Patients were categorized based on the primary diagnosis after examination by the oculoplastics surgeon. Ethical issues were considered though data collection did not involve direct patient participation.Statistical Analysis Used:Microsoft Excel 2007 software.Results:Two hundred and sixty-nine patients were seen with 141 (52.4%) females. Leading etiological factors were trauma; 81 (30.0%), congenital anomalies 55 (21.0%) and tumors 44 (16.0%). Eyelid diseases were the most frequent 115 (42.8%), with ectropion 36 (31.0%) and ptosis 33 (29.0%) being the most common. Orbital and peri-orbital lesions 44 (16.4%) were mainly dermoids 12 (27.3%) and capillary heamangioma 4 (9.1%) in the pediatric age while thyroid orbitopathy 11 (25.0%) was predominant in adults. Ocular and degenerative diseases were retinoblastoma in 4 (16.7%) and phthisis bulbi in 10 (33.3%). Contracted socket was 22 (84.0%) of socket pathologies. Primary conjunctival diseases occurred less often, rather Stevens-Johnson syndrome in 9 (30.0%) and its ocular complications were more frequent.Conclusions:It is expected that this survey will provide a database for oculoplastics surgeons and ophthalmologists in an emerging subspecialty and thus enhance training focus and equipment acquisition.

This study highlights a difference in etiopathophysiology of ectropion and entropion in a sub-Saharan region when compared to reported data from developed countries. In Nigeria, ectropion (which is often cicatricial) is usually secondary to trauma whereas senile involution is the common cause in many developed countries. This finding has implications in appropriate planning and skill acquisition for surgical correction in this group of patients.