Percutaneous anaesthesia with a lignocaine-prilocaine cream (Emla) for eyelid skin surgery.

Epicutaneous application of the anaesthetic cream Emla (lignocaine and prilocaine), to induce percutaneous anaesthesia in 38 patients scheduled for eyelid skin surgery is presented. The cream was applied 60 to 90 minutes before operation. In 36 out of the 38 patients (94.8%) no supplementary analgesia was required. The pain during the procedure was rated either as no pain in 29 patients (76.3%), slight pain in five patients (13%), moderate pain in two patients (5.2%), and severe pain in two patients (5.2%). Percutaneous anaesthesia induced by Emla cream is a useful and painless alternative method for analgesia in eyelid skin surgery.