Cryotherapy for malignancies of the eyelid

Abstract

Results have been published on the cryotherapy of basal cell carcinoma in the eyelid since the 1960s. The recovery rates vary from 82 to 97 percent, depending on the size and histological type of the tumour and on whether the tumour is a recurrence. In this article, the results of the cryotherapy of 88 cutaneus malignancies in the eyelid or its immediate vicinity are presented. The follow-up time was rather short, 24 months on the average. The recurrence rate for the whole material was 9.1 %. The functional and cosmetic results were satisfactory: no epiphora problems occurred after the treatment, even though 51.4 % of the eyelid tumours were nasal. In one case, a difficult ectropion had to be surgically corrected after the cryotherapy; surgical treatment was likewise required for conjunctival hyperplasia in three cases.