The eyelid crease approach to superficial lateral dermoid cysts.

Although the traditional approaches to lateral orbital dermoids with incision directly over the lesion or camouflaged beneath the inferior brow provide good direct exposure of the lesion, the result may be cosmetically less acceptable due to prolonged erythema and ultimate depression of the scar when placed in the thicker skin of this region. The results in 11 patients in whom an eyelid crease incision was used are reported. Camouflage of the incision by the overlying lid fold resulted in very satisfactory cosmesis in the immediate postoperative period. The extremely thin lid skin in the crease resulted in rapid healing with a virtually imperceptible mature scar. With sufficient extension of the incision and undermining, the lid tissues could be displaced to allow adequate exposure and removal of the dermoid in all cases.