Jack's Eyelid Cyst/Tumour
Jack is a handsome, gentle 8 year old neutered male English Setter.
His problem is a tiny cyst on his left upper eyelid (~2mm diameter externally). It doesn't look much until we turn over the eyelid and see how deep the cyst goes into the eyelid structure beneath.

Small cyst on Jack's left upper eyelid.      The cyst extends about 8mm into the eyelid
Cysts on the eyelid are quite common. They are usually non-painful but enlarge slowly over 6 to 12 months. Some cysts change into benign tumours, some into  cancerous squamous cell carcinomas, and are very difficult to treat so early surgery whilst the cyst is still small (less than 3mm diam.) is best.

             Jack under anaesthetic                               Anaesthetic monitoring
It's delicate surgery but not complicated. A small wedge of tissue including the cyst is removed from the eyelid and cut edges are drawn together using the finest of suture material so that the cornea will not be irritated by the sutures.

    Removal of wedge of eyelid                                        Fine suturing

          Completed operation                                           Jack waking up
Jack made a good recovery and was put on anti-inflammatory painkillers for a few days to keep the eyelid comfortable and prevent rubbing. We sent the removed tissue for pathology to check for tumour cells.
Five days later at check up Jack was fine, the wound had healed well and there was no irritation. The lab report showed that the cyst was in fact a benign tumour (an adenoma) which is unlikely to recur, but it's just as well we removed it whilst it was tiny.

If the eyelid cyst had been bigger, say 6-8mm diameter, then more of the eyelid would have had to be removed which would result in eyelid distortion. If an eyelid tumour is clearly enlarging then it must be removed with a wide margin to prevent re-growth. If there is insufficient eyelid remaining to protect the eye then the only option would be to remove the eye.
Early surgery on eyelid cysts or tumours is the only safe option.

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