title: Scleral necrosis secondary to nonabsorbable suture following ptosis surgery.
abstract: We report a unique case of persistent scleral ulceration in a 68-year-old woman who developed eye redness, pain, and photophobia 2 days following external levator advancement with nonabsorbable suture. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy revealed an area of scleral ulceration superonasal to the limbus. The patient was treated with 6 months of topical steroids with some improvement in her condition but without complete resolution. An exposed suture or foreign body was never directly visualized; however, a mobile nodule was noted upon palpation of the eyelid. Subsequent surgical eyelid exploration revealed a retained polypropylene suture, which was dissected free and removed. Postoperatively, the area of scleral ulceration resolved completely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Beeran
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meghpara
authors.forename: Seongmu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Yen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001763:Blepharoptosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005549:Foreign-Body Reaction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009336:Necrosis / Q000209:etiology; D009801:Oculomotor Muscles / Q000601:surgery; D011126:Polypropylenes; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012590:Sclera / Q000473:pathology*; D013537:Sutures / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D011126:Polypropylenes