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BACKGROUND. Lamellar ichthyosis is a skin disorder that is frequently associated with cicatricial ectropion and lagophthalmos. The authors present the surgical management of cicatricial ectropion in a case with lamellar ichthyosis. PATIENT AND METHODS. A 2-year-old male presented with bilateral cicatricial ectropion of the upper and lower eyelids. He had lagophthalmos and corneal punctuate staining. His skin was totally involved with the disease process except his prepuce. The patient was circumcised, and after the correction of horizontal eyelid laxity, the penile skin graft was sutured into the defects in all four eyelids. RESULTS. 18 months following surgery the patient had no lagophthalmos or corneal exposure, but had slight ectropion at the temporal side of the left lower eyelid. He had no complications from the circumcision. CONCLUSION. Prepuce is an alternative donor tissue in male patients with no other available donor site. To our knowledge, this is the second report of cicatricial ectropion corrected with a penile skin graft.

PURPOSE: This prospective study was performed to evaluate whether there is an association between enophthalmos and involutional ectropion. METHODS: Hertel exophthalmometric measurements were obtained from 31 patients with involutional ectropion and from 30 control patients who were age- and sex-matched. RESULTS: Eighteen patients had bilateral ectropion and 13 patients had unilateral ectropion. The mean of the exophthalmometric measurements of the eyes with ectropion was 12.67 +/- 2.48 (SD) mm. The mean of the exophthalmometric measurements of the control patients was 12.80 +/- 2.87 (SD) mm in the right eye and 12.83 +/- 2.93 (SD) mm in the left eye. The difference between the eyes of the patients and the controls was not statistically significant (p0.05). In the affected eyes of the patients with unilateral ectropion, the mean exophthalmometric value was 13.15 +/- 2.51 (SD) mm, and in the unaffected eyes of the patients, the mean exophthalmometric value was 13.07 +/- 2.56 (SD) mm. This difference was not statistically significant either (p0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with involutional ectropion do not have more enophthalmos than the age- and sex-matched normal population. This study does not suggest an association between enophthalmos and involutional ectropion.