Surgical management of carcinoma of eyelids and periorbital skin.

An appraisal of a personal series of 115 unselected and surgically treated cutaneous cancers of palpebral region is presented. Histological confirmation of the diagnosis and adequacy of excision was obtained for all lesions. Seven of the 8 patients with doubtful clearance were successfully treated with further surgery very soon. Complications were few, the incidence of reoperations low, and cosmetic as well as functional results were mostly satisfactory. Tumour recurred in 1 case (0.87%). Two patients had a poor cosmetic result. Seventy-nine cases (69%) were treated as day cases under local anaesthesia even for major repairs like full-thickness reconstruction of two-thirds of the lower eyelid and repairs with large full-thickness skin grafts of up to 20 x 55 mm by a new simple technique of graft fixation. The use of longer-acting local anaesthetics in oculoplastic surgery is described. Attention is drawn to the dangers of using direct wound closure for repair.