Differences in 7th and 8th edition American Joint Committee on Cancer staging for periocular sebaceous carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinicopathological features of periocular sebaceous carcinoma and describe the differences in T category between the seventh and eighth editions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for eyelid carcinoma in a Canadian population. METHODS: This study is a single-centre retrospective review of consecutive patients diagnosed with periocular sebaceous carcinoma at Vancouver General Hospital over a 24-year period. Medical records and pathological slides were reviewed. Clinicopathological features, management, and outcomes were recorded. Each carcinoma was staged as per both the seventh and eighth editions AJCC staging system for eyelid carcinoma. RESULTS: Forty-five patients (25 women, 20 men) were identified with a median age of 74 years (range 42-91 years). Tumour size was with a median of 4 mm (range 1-30 mm) and a mean of 6.7 mm. Using the seventh edition, patients were assigned the following T categories: Tis = 10, T1 = 9, T2 = 11, T3 = 8, T4 = 0. Under the eighth edition, 18 of 45 patients (40%) were restaged, with the majority of these (15 patients, 33%) being downstaged. The eighth edition categories were as follows: Tis = 10, T1 = 22, T2 = 3, T3 = 0, T4 = 3. Three patients developed disease recurrence, 2 of whom (staged T2c and T4b) died of disease. CONCLUSIONS: There were substantial differences in the seventh and eighth editions of AJCC for the staging of periocular sebaceous carcinoma. Our series had small tumours at presentation with infrequent recurrences or metastases. We found a high number of patients with in-situ-only disease.

Trephination for canalicular obstruction: experience in 45 eyes.

PURPOSE: To evaluate efficacy of a trephination procedure for resolution of primary canalicular obstruction or obstruction secondary to failed dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). METHODS: Retrospective review of patients in a single surgeon's practice who underwent trephination with Crawford tube insertion between 2001 and 2011, with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months. Indications for surgery included symptomatic patients either with primary canalicular obstruction or secondary obstruction after a failed DCR. RESULTS: Trephination was carried out on 45 eyes of 43 patients; 78% were female, and average age at trephination was 61.0 years (range 32 to 89). Thirty-two eyes had previous DCR (75% endonasal, 25% external); mean interval of trephination after DCR was 1.4 years (range 0.3-9.1). Crawford stent tubes were left in-situ in 2 patients; in the remainder, tubes were removed at a mean interval of 5.6 months (range 0.3-20.6). The vast majority of presenting canalicular obstructions were in the common canalicus (73%). Sixteen eyes (36%) underwent a single trephination, and 29 eyes (64%) required repeat intervention; of these, 16 eyes had DCR (3 endonasal, 13 external) and 13 eyes had either repeat trephination with stenting (10 eyes) or repeat stenting alone (3 eyes). When separated into those with primary versus secondary obstruction, re-operation rate was similar in both groups (63% versus 69%). No patients developed complications after trephination. CONCLUSIONS: Trephination is a simple and effective intervention for canalicular obstruction that allowed 64% of patients, through one or two procedures, to avoid the morbidity of DCR.

Clinical and histopathologic review of 18 explanted porous polyethylene orbital implants.

PURPOSE: To review the clinical and histopathologic features of porous polyethylene (PP) orbital implants requiring explantation. DESIGN: Case series. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen explanted PP orbital implants of 18 patients were studied. METHODS: The charts and histopathologic findings were reviewed for all patients requiring explantation of PP orbital implants between 1997 and 2006 by 2 oculoplastic surgeons at the University of British Columbia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical data obtained included patient demographics, the nature of the primary surgery, and the clinical presentation leading to eventual implant removal. The histopathologic data observed included the presence of anterior exposure, area of fibrovascular ingrowth, type of inflammation, and presence and type of bacterial colonies. RESULTS: Nine (50%) of the 18 patients studied were referred from other surgeons. The balance represented 3.2% of all PP implants placed by the 2 surgeons. The procedures for the primary surgery were 12 enucleations (67%), 5 eviscerations (28%), and 1 secondary implant (5%). Clinical findings included anterior implant exposure and discharge in all cases. Histopathologic analysis was performed in all of the implants and showed less than 50% fibrovascular ingrowth in 16 implants (89%) and predominantly acute or mixed inflammation in 15 (83%). Foreign body giant cells were seen adjacent to the implant material in all cases. Bacterial colonies on gram stain were identified in 12 specimens (67%); overall, gram-positive cocci in clusters or chains were found in 10 implants (56%), and gram-negative bacteria were found in 1 (5.5%). Thirteen patients (72%) lived in locations distant from Vancouver, the surgical center. CONCLUSIONS: This article presents the largest review of explanted porous polyethylene orbital spheres. The findings suggest that anterior exposure allows bacterial colonization and the development of a heavy inflammatory infiltrate. Poor tissue ingrowth may limit the penetration of topical or systemic antibiotic therapy, leading to the necessity for explantation. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE(S): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

Metastatic eyelid disease associated with hepatocellular carcinoma.

CASE REPORT: The eyelid is an unusual site for metastasis. We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma in which eyelid lesions were the presenting sign of metastatic disease. This 76-year-old female patient presented with a recent history of a chalazion of her right upper and lower eyelids. Biopsy of 1 lesion showed moderately differentiated metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. She had been diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma 15 months previously and had no evidence of metastasis up to that point. COMMENT: Eyelid lesions are rarely the initial manifestation of metastatic disease. This report and literature review of metastatic eyelid disease underscore the importance of considering metastasis in the differential diagnosis of eyelid lesions.

Comparison of retrobulbar analgesics for evisceration.

PURPOSE: To determine whether postoperative pain and nausea after evisceration surgery is better controlled with intraoperative retrobulbar ethanol or bupivacaine. METHODS: Prospective, randomized, clinical trial. Eleven patients undergoing evisceration surgery by two surgeons over a 6-month period for blind, chronically painful eyes were randomly allocated in two groups. One group (5 patients) received prophylactic retrobulbar 95% ethanol injections; the control group (6 patients) received retrobulbar 0.75% bupivacaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine. Postoperative pain and nausea were recorded by the patients with the use of a 10-point analog scale. Patients also documented the quantity of analgesics required. RESULTS: The mean and median postoperative pain and nausea scores were significantly lower for patients given intraoperative retrobulbar ethanol (paired t test, P<0.01). These patients also required significantly less analgesic medicine. Complications from the retrobulbar ethanol injections included forehead numbness and ptosis, both of which had resolved by the time of prosthesis fitting 6 weeks later. CONCLUSIONS: Surgeons should consider the use of intraoperative retrobulbar ethanol injections to help relieve postoperative pain and nausea.

Clinicopathologic features and behavior of cutaneous eyelid melanoma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical and histopathologic features of cutaneous eyelid melanomas and identify prognostic factors in the behavior of such tumors. DESIGN: Retrospective observational case series. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three patients with cutaneous eyelid melanomas without conjunctival involvement. METHODS: Patients' charts were reviewed for clinical information, treatment procedure, and disease course (updated at the time of study). Histopathologic sections from all surgical procedures were reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Histologic type of melanoma, tumor growth phase, Clark's level of invasion, tumor thickness, and other microscopic features were evaluated in each case. The width of excision margins was considered and measured histologically when possible. RESULTS: There was no gender predilection. The lower eyelid was more frequently involved than the upper eyelid or canthi. Seventeen cases (74%) were invasive, and six (26%) were in situ melanomas. Lentigo maligna melanoma was the most common histologic type, accounting for 61% (14 cases) of all melanomas and 53% (9 cases) of invasive melanomas. Superficial spreading melanoma accounted for 22% (5 cases) and nodular melanoma for 17% (4 cases) of all melanomas. Surgical excision, as the treatment of choice, was incomplete in nine cases, two thirds of which were lentigo maligna melanoma (in situ or invasive). Tumor reappeared in 77.8% of these cases. Fourteen patients had initial narrow excisions, and three of them (21.4%) had local recurrences. Although recurrence occurred in one each of our "in situ," "thin," and "thick" melanomas, it proceeded to distant metastases and death only in the "thin" one. Adjuvant radiotherapy was used in six patients with successful disease control in two cases. CONCLUSIONS: Eyelid skin melanomas have a relatively good clinical prognosis. The histologic type and thickness of the primary melanoma were not clearly related to the clinical behavior once they were completely excised. The use of very narrow excisions of 5 mm or less was associated with greater frequency of local recurrence. Lentigo maligna melanomas were the largest tumors at presentation and, despite being thinner, were a greater surgical challenge. This type of melanoma is almost certainly underdiagnosed by ophthalmologists.