Chalazion, a Benign Eyelid Tumour – The Sagamu Experience

Abstract

Aim: To study the demographic characteristics, pattern of presentation and type of treatment of chalazion in Sagamu, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted to review all the cases seen and diagnosed as chalazion in the eye clinic of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital [OOUTH], Sagamu between January 1997 and December 2007. Data was obtained from the clinic attendance register, the register of minor office procedure and the case files. The age, sex, pattern of presentation and type of treatment given were recorded. Result: Ninety-seven cases (0.7%) out of a total of 13,605 new cases seen during the period under review were diagnosed as chalazion although 59 case records were available for review. There were 46 males and 51 females with a mean age of 25.3 years. Thirty-nine cases (40.2%) were between the ages of 21 and 30 years. Twenty-one cases (42.9%) presented with multiple chalazia while 32 cases (65.3%) had chalazion only in their upper eyelids. Forty-four cases (74.6%) were treated with incision and curettage. Conclusion: Chalazion is not a common ocular problem. Young age at presentation and multiple lesions are significant findings. Surgery is the standard method of treatment.

Incidence and predisposing factors of chalazion

“…13 The incidence in Nigeria was reported to be 0.7% in one study. 14 Some studies report a sex difference in the incidence of chalazion with females experiencing higher rates of lesions. 1,8 This is often attributed to the hormonal influence of sebum production especially during puberty and pregnancy.…”

“…Chalazion occur in all ages, but it occurs maximally in children and adults below the age of 30 years probably due to the higher level of androgenic hormones that stimulate sebum production and viscosity. 3,14 The mean age of chalazion was reported to be around 25 years, and more than two thirds of the cases were found to occur during the second and third decades of life. 16 Chalazia are more common in the upper lids due to the higher number of tarsal glands in comparison to the lower lids.…”

“…Many factors have been proposed, for example, hormonal changes during puberty and pregnancy, viral and bacterial infection, rosacea, exposure to air pollutants, poor eyelid hygiene, chronic blepharitis, seborrheic dermatitis, eyelid trauma, and diabetes. 3,[13][14][15]18 Other less associated factors include immune deficiency states, hyperlipidemia, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis. 19,14,20,21 These predisposing factors will be reviewed in this section.…”

“…Similarly, sharp eyelid trauma can lead to direct injury to the ducts and malfunction of the ductal release of the produced sebum in the meibomian glands. 14,27 Other predisposing factors Immunodeficiency states and hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (Job syndrome) were reported to be associated with chalazion. 1,8 Less well-established predisposing factors for Chalazia include exposure to ultraviolet rays, use of eyelid cosmetics, dry eye, trachoma, and stress.…”

Treatment of Chalazian: a Comparative Cross-sectional Study

“…In our study female 65(58%) were affected more than male 47(42%), as found in previous studies. 6,7 Chalazion occurs across all ages, it may cluster at puberty but it is less prevalent among the elderly 6 . Similar to other studies maximum incidence was seen in age group 17-30(67.9%) because of higher level of androgenic hormones which increases seabumviscosity.…”