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My personal struggle against a chalazion: The surgical operation!

Introduction

Since I couldn't find a detailed summary of a surgical operation to remove a Chalazion, I decided to talk to you about my own experience.

Here's what I will explain to readers:
• How I got my chalazion.
• How the surgery went.
• How my eye has fared since the operation.

Chalazion Summary


It all started when I was an adolescent. I often woke up in the morning with sleep crust on the edges of my eyelids, at the base of the lashes. It was chronic: it would last for a week, and then go away for several months. Over time, it finally went away for good.

Then, two years ago, my eyes regularly began to get red (inflammation), and get small styes that swelled up on my eyelids. They went away after a few days, but it was pretty troublesome.

I got some Sterdex and other collyrium preparations for my eyes.

My ophthalmologist said I had blepharitis. The first time it happened was when I was on a skiing trip (by the way, if anyone sees a link, don't hesitate to send me an email).

The Sterdex helped a little, but the styes kept coming back again and again.

They also recommended that I use Blephaclean (or Blephagel, or Blephasol), in order to clean my eyelids twice a day.

Recently, from out of nowhere, an enormous chalazion appeared and quickly it encysted. Even with the use of Blephaclean and Sterdex, I just couldn't get rid of it. I also tried massages with warm, damp compresses, but none of these treatments worked.

The only thing you can do with an encysted chalazion is to remove it through a small surgical operation.

So then I found an opthalmologist to remove my encysted chalazion.




step by step

Chalazion surgery step 1
H-2
2 hours before the operation
Really feeling a lot of stress, as you can imagine! But since nothing I had tried worked, I had to try an operation. The ophthalmologist I went to see is a specialist in children's care, so that was reassuring.
After studying my chalazion, the doctor suggested making an incision on the outside of the eyelid, because he determined that my chalazion was already very large and very encysted. This was perfect for me, because I didn't really want to have my eyelid turned inside out. I had already had an eyelid turned inside out once by an ophthalmologist, and it wasn't a very pleasant experience.
Chalazion surgery step 2
H+15
15 hours after the operation
The operation gets underway: Lie on the table. Drops in my eyes to anaesthetize them. It doesn't hurt, but you can sense the movement of the needles. The rest went fine. He opened up and removed the whole chalazion. It took longer than expected because it was bigger than he had thought. That led to a big problem at the end: Since a large part of my eyelid had been damaged by the cyst and the procedure lasted longer than expected, the anaesthetic started to wear off quickly, and I felt an immense pain. I was in a lot of pain for an hour. On the photo, you can see the sutures and my eye is really swollen.
Chalazion surgery step 3
H+28
28 hours after the operation
The contour of the eye begins to turn red or start to get yellow. I have cream and drops to put in twice a day. My ophthalmologist asked me to keep a compress on my eye for 48 hours to avoid getting dirt in the wound.
Chalazion surgery step 4
D+2
2 days after the operation
My eyelid doesn't hurt at all now, and that's great! So I could finally remove the compress, and that way I no longer looked like a pirate.
Chalazion surgery step 5
D+3
3 days after the operation
Today, there are more and more colors
Chalazion surgery step 6
D+4
4 days after the operation
Nothing new to report
Chalazion surgery step 7
D+5
5 days after the operation
My eyelid started to go down a little in size, so it's becoming a little less noticeable as I walk down the street.
Chalazion surgery step 8
D+9
9 days after the operation
After 9 days of cream and drops, my eyelid has almost gone back down its original size before I had the chalazion.
Chalazion surgery step 9
D+70
70 days after the operation
My eyelid has gone practically back to how it looked before the chalazion appeared. My lashes however point a little bit upward at the spot where it was the most swollen. Another issue I haven't raised till now: a nerve was cut when making the incision, and I lost sensation everywhere below the incision.

news

  • One month later
    Impression of swelling on the eyelid
    So, one month after this operation, of course the chalazion is gone, but I can sometimes feel a swelling sensation.
  • Two months later
    Inflammation
    Two months after the chalazion is removed, the blepharitis comes back. I get red eyes from time to time.
  • Three months later
    Sterdex and Hyabak
    Three months later: Sometimes, when my eyes are red (blepharitis), I put in some Sterdex. They also advised me to use Hyabak several times a day in order to keep my eyes moist.


Glossary of terms used