Eyelid avulsion: a clinical and experimental study.

Traumatic eyelid avulsion is reported infrequently. We cared for an 18-year-old man who lost > 75% of his right upper eyelid. The tissue was recovered 10 h following the initial trauma. Successful surgical reimplantation resulted in a functional upper eyelid with extensive madarosis. An experimental study was undertaken to attempt to determine the optimal method for preservation of avulsed eyelid tissue. Experimental surgery was performed to simulate repair of eyelid avulsion. The postoperative changes in experimentally reimplanted eyelids parallel those noted in the clinical example of eyelid avulsion. This clinical example and experimental study suggested the following management principles for handling avulsed eyelid tissue: eyelid tissues should not be immersed in saline; avulsed eyelid tissues should be stored at 4 degrees C; if reimplantation time is < 6 h, storage in a cold moist environment is adequate.